First Journey
by KeyOfDestiny258977
Summary: Four friends living on Destiny Islands plan to leave the safety of their world to visit the outside world. Their plans become ravaged when creatures called "Heartless" invade and tear them apart from one another. Working to reunite with her friends, Luxe embarks on a journey to travel the worlds with a legendary weapon known as the Keyblade.
1. Episode 1: Destiny Islands

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Any OCs in the fanfiction belong to me. Please only give constructive feedback or tell me about your favorite parts! I'm gonna do my best on this fic. *_***

***Music***

**[Location]**

**Voice**

_'Thoughts'_

_"Unknown Speaker"_

* * *

**||Episode 1: Destiny Islands||**

_The day she appeared on the islands, there was a great and dreadful storm. No one knows where it came from. There was no forecast warning the village of any terrible weather in the coming days. Yet, when no person expected it, the rage-filled thunderheads made their move on the world and lashed out violently. It was a first for everyone - a first that none wanted to have happen again for the foreseeable future._

_Thunder rumbled and lightning lit the night sky as harsh winds bent the coconut trees nearly in half. Children watched from the secured windows of their bedrooms to see if anyone dared to go outside into that... that madness. Of course, there wasn't a single soul who felt brave enough to try the intensity of mother nature. Surely she was just running her course and marking an unexpected path. Soon, the storm would pass and everything would turn out okay. That was the village mayor's greatest hope, as well as the hope of every living person around the mainlands._

_Ruthless and frequent flashes of lightning flickered about within the clouds, some bolts impacting the earth. The weather's frightening method of intimidation worked effectively to keep away any curious eyes. Another fascinating spectacle to take place went unseen under the cover of the storm._

_A single shooting star falling from the night sky. The next lightning flash hid the swift descent of the star, which fell behind the smaller islands miles away from any home. It soon became too late for anyone to sit through the rest of the storm. Everyone retired for bed as the clouds subsided. The ravaging storm that left gardens flooded and feeble shacks torn down had finally gone away, revealing the beautiful starry sky. And, left beneath those stars was a child standing on a sandy beach, far away from the mainlands._

_Standing with her toes buried in the cool sand was a young girl with white hair reaching the peak of her shoulders. Fluttering bangs draped over her forehead. Sky blue eyes entertained by the curving of the waves. Her gaze was not intending to be so sharp. The girl was so fixated on the strangeness before her, it threw her into a stupor of thought._

_"Where am I?"_

_The words she spoke were soft and quiet, allowing for the breeze to blow them right back into her face. Pursing her lips, the girl groaned softly and touched the skin of her cheeks. Her face was being tickled by the air. Such a sensation rang familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Something about this place interested her, yet she could not determine what that was exactly._

_"A small island..." she spoke again, looking around at the tall trees and shrubs. The scenery was so very colorful and welcoming. A beach and other island features to explore. Without even realizing it, the girl smiled gently and giggled in a quiet manner. "It feels like home."_


	2. Episode 1 - Part I

**||Episode 1 - Part I: Station of Beginning||**

_I remember a time when I lived in a peaceful world surrounded by a vast ocean. The wind was relaxing, and the sky so bright. My very heart thrived in the light that world gifted me. _

_But, then... A man came to me and asked me a strange question. No, he was no stranger. I easily recognized him as my master. His voice was difficult to forget, not that I would ever want to lose memory of it. _

_"Hey."_

_The way he called out to me was casual. His name, as strange as it might sound, escaped me. However, what child ever referred to their parent by first name?_

_"I hope you're ready for the next step."_

_Ready or not. I was willing to take the step into the unknown, just as he had asked me to. _

_My immediate response was to be a retort to his words. It wasn't seen as mean, because we always poked at each other. He would easily understand my meaning behind whatever was said. Understanding his intentions at this point, I did speak._

_I accepted the task that was being handed to me. That pleasant world I loved so dearly was to be left behind. It might be forgotten, but I know my heart will recognize it the day I return._

**間**

***Dive into the Heart -Destati-* ... [Dive into the Heart]**

Darkness stirred all around. I twist and turn as an unseen current drives me down, deeper into the darkness. There is nothing I can do to fight it. Rather than do just that, I allow myself to be pulled until a certain point. The current slowed, and I gradually moved downward to a circular platform awaiting my arrival. My eyes open and I can see very clearly a stationary image on the face of the platform, which was decorated with a beautiful stained glass depiction of different creatures. Pinks, reds, browns, blues, and animals to match each section of color. I was very fascinated by the peculiar design.

My feet touched down on the stable ground. The freedom to walk all over it was welcomed, but I remained at one point to admire my surroundings. There was the presence of darkness. What light there was shined from an orb floating above my head and from the glow of the platform under my feet. Nothing else was there to illuminate this dark location.

**There is still time before the door is opened. Come forward... into the light.**

A voice said to me as I gazed around the depths of the abyss. It demanded an action from me. Where the light shined down on the platform, I was being told to step into its wide ray. Hesitation struck me in the beginning. There was little reason for me to merely obey some random voice calling out demands. To listen to some stranger would be unlike me. This was no stranger, though. I couldn't explain why that was the case, that I could obey without too much thought. The hesitation fled away when my chest pounded calmly in a reasonable rhythm.

I walked and took as many steps necessary to get beneath the light. But it was swift to fade away when it became apparent that I was right where I needed to be. The light did appear again at three different points along the platform- to my left and right, and one in front of me. Short, trapezoidal pillars rose from the ground and took their stand around me. A trio of tools manifested above each of them, as if I was being presented with different options to select.

**The power within your heart will need to be reawakened. It sleeps, waiting for the time you call out to it.**

I glance around at the shield, staff, and sword. At the same time, a more internal voice beckons to my attention. _'If you give this power form... It will give you strength. Make your choice.'_ So I did need to make a decision about which of these weapons I wanted to use. Weapons to fight with in any given situation. Thinking of it as a test of some sort, I carefully went around to each one and considered their significance. Time to do so was on my side.

The first to fall into my grasp was the simply designed staff. It fit snugly in my hands and felt comfortable to wield. Although, it didn't seem all that great. What good would it do in combat?

_'The power of the mystic.  
Inner strength.  
A staff of wonder and ruin.'_

That same voice inquired of me about the staff, if it would be the power I sought after. Careful thought led me to believe otherwise. My steady hands released the staff and allowed it to return to its place on the pillar. I jumped down from the pillar and walked around the platform to the next weapon of choice. The shield was the second to be judged by my interests. I climbed up onto the platform and took it into my hands. Again... there was a voice to provide a description for my next option.

_'The power of the guardian.  
Kindness to aid friends.  
A shield to repel all.'_

Was that the power the my heart was seeking? The love I had for my friends was indeed something great, but I hardly found it true that I was their guardian. I could aid them, but my power for my own. Not to defend or to serve a passive role. _No_. Some shield had little of my interest. There was something more that I desired. I passed on the shield and moved on to the last of the three choices.

_'The power of the warrior.  
Invincible courage.  
A sword of terrible destruction.'_

I was hardly focused on the part about terrible destruction. Rather, the more fitting part of the sword's description was "invincible courage." To be a warrior, strong and bold at all times. I dreamed to have such a power. Though I was a simple girl, that type of path fit with my heart. Boy or girl. Either could be a warrior. Nodding to the inquisitive voice, I agreed to take on the role of a warrior. The sword vanished, but a peculiar light seeped into my body. I could feel that there was a newfound strength growing inside of me.

**Your path is set. Now... what will you sacrifice?**

Something to sacrifice. It might be a bad thought, but that was an easy question to answer. I lightly jogged over to the pillar holding the staff. The blue emblem sitting at the top of it twirled as if in dance. That was the one that I chose to give up, to exchanged. That left the shield to be alone now that I chose my power and sacrificed the other. It was a decision I felt most comfortable with, so I wasn't going to go back on it. This form that I chose... I had no idea what it would mean for me in the long run. Nonetheless, I'd choose to see my path through.

I gasped in surprise when the pillars faded back into the platform. There was a light that appeared over my head, but it quickly moved away and disappeared into the darkness. It wasn't gone forever, like I thought it might be. Instead, I witnessed a long staircase coming into existence over the great darkness. It linked this platform that I stood on to another, which was only a short distance away. Taking in a deep breath, I confidently stepped onto the first step. It was floating, disconnected from the others. I was a little worried that it might fall, but that was not going to be the case.

**The power to fight is yours. Use it to defend yourself and others. But... you already know that.**

Arriving at the next pillar, I found that it was represented by no particular image unlike the one before. The stained glass shifted into a flower-like style with its varying colors. In the middle was a red and black heart emblem. I glanced down at my left hand after feeling a particular sensation within my palm. The plain sword of the warrior appeared, manifesting from a sparkling light. There was my tool to fight.

The subjects that I was to fight, apparently, appeared when I took another few steps closer to the center of the platform. Light shining down from above prompted these ink-black creatures to rise and surround me. They came up through pools of darkness. I could see that the black substance acting like a liquid; it was as if they were swimming in it.

They had sharp claws and jagged antennae. Perhaps the most outstanding feature they had were the yellow, round and beady eyes. It was intimidating to look into them, but I stood my ground since I had my own method to fight.

**At times, they will try to strike you down. Your light can repel them, or...**

Or what? I wanted to question the voice that spoke to me, but one of the shadowy creatures pounced and tried to claw at me. Blocking the attack with the sword helped. I parried and struck it down with one blow. It was a little surprising how easy they were to take down, but I found their numbers worrying. This must have been my light doing the work. Was it really burning strong?

I breathed out and hunkered low as more of the shadows came up. They were surrounding me like a pack of wild dogs circling their prey. This was, more or less, a troubling situation. Too many of them to attack. I didn't know what to do.

**The darkness can become your power and tool. A strong heart has the power to overcome and control.**

_Overcome_...

I pressed my lips together and watched the shadows closing in. My heart could expel this threat, or it could gain dominion. What the trick behind that was, I desired to know. And my desire became known to the unseen figure watching over me. A fluttering in my chest guided me to tap into this mentioned power. It was like I was touching a tangible bit of the darkness and reeling it in for my own use.

The sword became nothing more than a nuisance as a dark aura radiated from my hands and forearms. Darkness within my heart poured out and influenced the shadows. It seemed to intimidate them, and they fled back through the dark pools. I was glad that the fighting was over, but that tired me out. My legs were shaking terribly.

_Is this the power of darkness...?_

**Very well done. You seem like you can handle yourself very well. **

Looking up into the orb of light hanging overhead, I opened my mouth to say something back to the voice. However, before I could say or do anything, my legs buckled as a heavy rumble shook the platform. Something serious was going on. Pieces of the platform were chipping away. I didn't react to it at first, because it was hard to notice the tiny particles drifting off into the darkness. But more and more fell away as my level of awareness increased.

I kept my mouth closed as the platform withered away into nothing. It frightened me to see everything disappearing. Eventually, I was left without any support under me. My whole being descended once again into the darkness. I was being swallowed by the deep, dark abyss with no way out.

**There's just one thing you need to do. It's a very important role.**

_A role? But what can I do? I'm just..._

**To open the door to the truth, you must find all of the keys. Can you do it?**

_I don't know... How am I supposed to find them?_

**You'll figure it out along the way. At nightfall, your mission will become clear. I believe in you.**


	3. Episode 1 - Part II

**||Episode 1 - Part II: It was a Dream||**

***Destiny Islands* ... [Destiny Islands]**

The island breeze was so very mesmerizing. It blew all across the islands, passing on the pleasant scent of the salty ocean. And the great blue sea was endless. Plenty of it went around, encircling these islands and speaking its mind with every splash of the waves. There, in the blue sky, were hardly any clouds. White and fluffy clouds remained at a far distances, but none of them threatened to bring in a storm. It was reason enough to stand out in the shallow water, barefoot and absorbing the sunshine.

"Same sky. Same sea." I grinned and took in a deep breath. Here I stood, dressed in my black tank top and green capri pants, and enjoying my time on the beach.

Waking up in the morning to the same scene wasn't the worst to ever happen. Living on Destiny Islands, I found it to be a nice place to be. _But, to think_... My content smile faded, dropping to a mild frown as I continued to stare out at the open horizon. Was that place just made up? Maybe it was all apart of my imagination. It felt so real, and yet I find myself back on the islands the moment I open my eyes. The darkness was not at all present- only _light_. I narrowed my eyes in disbelief. There was no way it could have been a dream.

"Whatcha doin', Lu?"

Hearing his voice came as a bit of a surprise. Peering over my shoulder, I saw Riku walking over to me. He was tall- most girls on the islands would describe him as a handsome guy- and he had shoulder-length hair that was as silver as steel. I gave him a smile and turned back around to face the ocean. My thought was that Sora and Kairi were somewhere else on the island, probably near the dock on the other beach. Well, it was good to see one of my friends this morning, at least.

"The wind feels good, you know." I strained a smile, but Riku couldn't see the difficulty I was having with keeping it up. It was better that he not be concerned if there were possibly something serious on my mind. Well, there was, but I didn't have the nerve to share about it. Instead of leading on about my own problems, I steered the conversation in a more hopeful direction. I opened my arms and spread them out to my sides as though they were wings. "I hope the wind carries us someplace like this."

"Eh?" Riku raised a brow and put his hands on his hips. The tone in his voice told me that he was not the most intrigued in my thought. "You going on about that again? I dunno where we'll end up. We'll just have to find out when we get there."

"True..." I nodded slowly, releasing my arms from the pose. Turning on my heels in the watered sand, I splashed my way back to the cove's shore and joined Riku over by the pile of wood where we were going to do some building. "So, are we going to finish the raft today?"

However, Riku gestured with his thumb to the other direction. I assumed that he was referring to the other side of the island, but then I realized that it must have been "someone" over on the other side of the island. Two someones seemed more like the idea he was getting at. More likely than not, Sora was slacking off on a day of work. Kairi was most likely getting onto his back about it, but I wondered if they got wrapped into another conversation about our plans to build the raft. "Heh, let's go see what they're up to!"

**間**

_"Whoa! Gimme a break, Kairi..."_

_"Why am I not surprised? I caught you slacking off again."_

_"Was not! This huge, black... THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't- Ow!"_

_"Geez, are you still sleeping? Must've been a crazy dream."_

_"It wasn't a dream! Or was it? I don't know..."_

**間**

Riku and I were walking down the shoreline from the cove. He had a log under his arm as we made our way to our other friends. They were nearby; I could see Sora sitting in the sand and Kairi looking out at the ocean. Their moment together reminded me of Riku checking in with me only a little bit ago. It was amusing to see them like that. I got a feeling that it'd be worth teasing them about it later on. Was Riku getting the same idea? Hopefully.

"Say, Kairi," Sora started. "What was your hometown like? You know, the place you grew up as a kid."

"I've told you before." Kairi walked around Sora to stand by the shore. It was a conversation we all had with her a few times before. Those times, we never could get an answer out of her that wasn't another- "I don't remember."

"Nothing at all? 'Cause I thought ya might've remembered a little bit after so long..."

"Not one thing."

"Do ya ever wanna go back?"

"Well... I'm happy here! But I wouldn't mind going to see it."

Of course, this time was no different. Kairi came from another world. That was the fact we were all faced with when she first arrived on Destiny Islands, washed up on the beach. Sora and Riku were the ones who found her that night. I hadn't any fond memories of the time, though. There was a good reason for it, but... Well, I just couldn't figure out how to explain it to my friends. At least they knew what kind of a situation I was in. No memories and such. The real question was: _Did I even belong to this world?_

I sighed and continued to listen to the typical "Q & A" between our younger friends. Though my mind was yearning to trickle back to my own dilemma and what it all meant for me, I pushed the thoughts away to focus on the current matter. The four of us were in the middle of a crucial schedule. Morning was just about over, which meant that we didn't have all that much time to accomplish today's tasks.

"I'd like to see it, too!" Sora's loud voice and excitement mingled with my own feelings of enthusiasm. "Along with any other world out there. I wanna see 'em all!"

"What're we waiting for?" Kairi turned around with a wide grin on her face. It was like she was waiting for him to say that. "Let's go together!"

"Ahem!"

I cleared my throat and put my hands on my hips. _Let's go together_. Unfortunately, it seemed like Riku and I were being cut out of the picture. Those two couldn't possibly be thinking of leaving us behind on the islands to see the outside world alone. Sure, Sora knew a thing or two about sailing. We all had our own boats to row down to these smaller islands. I was certain that neither of them could manage a big raft, especially without anymore muscle. It'd sadden me if they failed, too.

"Hey..." Riku narrowed his eyes. His expression looked serious and even a little hurt. But, I knew better. He was only going to kid around with them rather than give them a terrible scolding. Knowing him for as long as I did, I knew that would be the case. "Aren't you leaving a couple of someones out? Geez. It's like we're the only ones serious about building the raft."

Riku tossed the log off to the side as he walked over to Kairi. "Off to the side" meaning on top of Sora. He didn't expect to have it land on him. Sora's reflexes were slow; he failed to catch the log in his arms and fell back in the white sand. I giggled softly and pulled it off of him so he could get up.

"And you've been slacking off just as much as him," Riku pointed his finger at Kairi. "Got anything to say for yourself?"

"Hee hee, so you caught me!" Kairi giggled, rubbing the back of her head. "Okay, we'll build it together. All of us! Race you guys there!"

"That's more like it." Riku plopped down in the sand, next to Sora. We were all in agreement about finishing the raft together. But, we were slow to realize the move that Kairi just pulled on us. "Wait a minute... What are you on about? A race in this heat?"

"Ready... Go!"

The four of us dash down the beach to the other side of the island, back where the raft was to be built. I didn't know who was going to win, but I grinned with every ounce of strength I put in my step. That strange place I was at earlier in the day, and all that about my memories. They were all pushed back to the back of my mind to be held in reserve. I was much too busy enjoying my time with my friends. What did a simple dream matter? Above all, this was where I belonged.


	4. Episode 1 - Part III

**||Episode 1 - Part III: About the Outside World||**

***Bustin' up on the Beach***

"C'mon, Sora, you can do better than that!"

Riku admonished Sora for faltering in their practice duel. Hearing the scolding words brought Sora back up to his feet, and they went swinging their wooden swords in another sparring round on the paopu fruit island across the bridge. I watched from the bending paopu tree as they beat each other up. Poor Sora had a number of bruises all over, and his face was scuffed up from getting tossed onto the grainy ground. '_Riku's really hammering down on him today.'_

Back and forth, they took turns taking hits. Sora was catching up to Riku the longer it drew out, but that was until Riku was pushed to the edge. He took a hit to the chest by Sora's sword and fell onto his back. It was a false sense of victory for the brunette. Too soon did he let his guard down. I winced when Riku's feet crashed into Sora's stomach. The impact of the hit sent him flying off the island and into the water below. Victory went to Riku, just as I thought it might.

"Ugh... That makes 1 to 3..." Sora's head emerged from the salty water. We glanced over the edge of the island to see the 14-year-old crawling back to dry land.

"Giving up already, Sora?" Riku taunted him all the way. "I thought you were better than that!"

"Wow, Riku, you're so mean," I rolled my eyes. A pair of aquamarine orbs softly glared at me from the rock my silver-haired friend stood on. But, thinking nothing of it, I ignored him and leaned back on the tree. He and Sora were always at it when it came to racing or sword fighting. It was hard to believe how much energy they had to commit to so much of those things in a day. Like, everyday was a competition to see who was better at what. I tried to stay out of it to the best of my ability, but sometimes... "Oof!"

I yelped when another wooden sword fell onto my tummy. It was an old one, like Riku's. Dents and other scarred portions of the wood pulled my attention. Sitting up, I picked the sword up into my hands and examined it closely for a moment. This was the one that Riku gave me when we started playing together. That time dated back to when we were little kids, but I could never forget. I thought I threw it away a few years ago. _Fighting_... I never understood it, even if it was for fun. What made fighting so fun for them?

"You owe me a round."

Riku's voice was stern, more so than it had ever been. I clenched my teeth and tightened my grip around the splintered handle. Though his forcible invitation was a tempting idea to consider, I set it gently down on the tree's side and turned to face the calm waters. Distaste grew within me. Sparring against Riku went against what I felt at that moment. The one guy who gave me goosebumps when he sits next to me at school wanted to fight me with some wooden swords. How outrageous was that? It just didn't make any sense to me.

Again, there was a tapping on my shoulder. I looked to the side to see Riku poking me with the same wooden sword. He was determined to get me to say yes to his challenge. Refusing him wasn't going to be an option, it seemed. If I said no to it again, he'd probably pull me down from this tree and make me fight.

"Do I really have to?" I whined softly.

"You do if you don't explain to me why we don't play around like we used to," Riku stated, smirking to himself. A reasonable point. Or, maybe I was just excusing myself from the fact that I didn't want to fight him. "If you win, I won't bother you about it anymore. But, if I win..."

"I have to work hard until I beat you." I frowned, taking the sword in my hand. My backside slipped off the tree, and I wandered around until I was in the middle of the island with Riku. Shade was cast down from the group of coconut trees, which made for a pleasant break from the sun. Anticipation was bubbling in the pit of my stomach. After a long time, I was facing Riku in an old fashioned sparring match. He probably thought I was going to lose like Sora did in the beginning of their match. I kind of had the same feeling, though I was still determined to give it my all to get the desired result. "Bring it on!"

***Music End***

**間**

I groaned and rubbed at the aching in my head. Thinking that I could take on Riku in a match might have been a mistake on my part. He made it seem like I was getting ahead, but then things took a sudden turn for worse. Throughout the match, I did well to stand my ground and avoid falling into the water. I even matched up to Riku's moves to a degree. Where did it go wrong? The coconut rolling away had nothing to say in its defense. Glaring at the object, I groaned again and sat on the ground in defeat. "I can't believe I lost."

"Heh, don't feel too bad about it," Riku smiled, holding out his hand for me to take. I stared at it for a moment. As he usually did, Riku was wearing his black gloves. That hand was responsible for pushing me into the defensive very frequently in our spar. It was also that hand that offered a kind support in getting me back to my feet. I smiled back at him and accepted the help up. "You've got a lot of training before you can beat this guy. But, hey, least you're not a total rookie like someone over there."

"Hey!"

Sora was waving his fist at Riku for the insult, but we all laughed it off. He was walking back this way from the shack on the other side of the bridge. Finally, he was able to recover from the miserable loss at Riku's hands. Kairi came along with him, though; she had a piece of paper in her hand that struck my interest. Riku took my wooden sword and dropped it under one of the coconut trees. The day was dragging on, but there was no more time for slacking off from a job.

"We've gotta get started with building the raft!" Kairi's announcement was loud and clear for us all to hear. "Let's work together to finish it up."

Everyone was handed a job to do for completing the raft. Sora was in charge of getting enough rope to use to tie all the raft parts together. Kairi gave herself the task of collecting a reasonably sized cloth to act as the sail. There was sure to be something around these islands that would do the trick. Meanwhile, Riku and I were busy collecting enough logs and other pieces of wood to use for the overall construction of the raft.

It was a lot of busy work, but we got down to business. I piled together smaller and longer wood pieces near Riku's work space. He was fixated on chopping down all of the logs to fine slabs. Like a team, everyone was bringing in all of the supplies needed to finish the raft. Before I knew it, evening time was already upon us. The time went by fast since we were doing work. We didn't get a chance to hang out with the other three who often came to this island- Wakka, Selphie, and Tidus. Those three were probably doing their own thing around these parts. Little did they know, we were busy with a project. It'd be nice to challenge them.

"Phew, we did a lot today," Kairi sighed, admiring the finished work on the raft. Surprisingly, Riku was fast with putting it all together. We all put in a hand, but he was the real star. The raft was looking really good. Actually, it was pretty much ready to sail. "Let's call it a day and come back tomorrow."

"Yeah, let's head home," Sora nodded in agreement, wiping a line of sweat from his forehead. "It's getting late."

**間**

We all were almost ready to go home, but there was still some time in the day left. Sunset was in progress. I could see the night sky looming overhead as the golden hue in the distance glowed. Stars were popping out in the growing darkness. It was at this time that we decided to go to the paopu fruit island to take in all that had gone on today. Not only that, but there were the things we were looking forward to with the building of the raft.

Sora and Kairi were sitting on the paopu tree, looking out at the horizon. I sat in the sand with my legs hanging over the edge of the island while Riku leaned back against the tree behind me. The view from here was beautiful. Sparkling water stretched as far as the eye could see. The mainlands were far off, but still within range. Soon, we'd be leaving all of that behind to see what else was out there. Such was the conversation we were having as we sat out in the open.

"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora opened the discussion, laying the spotlight over the auburn-haired girl. She looked to him and nodded, then returned to admiring the beautiful scenery. Careful thought reflected in Sora's eyes. Something was bothering him, I could tell that there was. "If we go out there, beyond this sea, then we'll run into your world. Right, Kairi?"

"Who knows." The response to Sora's inquiry didn't come from Kairi. Rather, it was Riku who opened his mouth to say something about it. He had his arms folded across his chest, but his eyes never left the clouded sunset. "We'll never know if we don't try. Which means we can't stay here and do nothing."

"How far is a raft going to take us?" I knitted my brows together. It was a troubling thought. Sailing the seas would probably take many days, I didn't know how many to be exact. And, say if we did set sail, who was to say that there'd even be a way off this world to the next. None of us could see anything beyond these islands. It was just too big, the vast ocean. We were surrounded by water. That may be all there is out there, so we'd probably die of thirst and hunger before getting anywhere.

"Dunno," Riku said, shrugging his shoulders. I questioned if he even believed the raft would take us to where we wanted to go. "If it's a bust, we'll just come back and think of some other plan to get to the outside world."

"Say, Riku, if you went to another world, what would you do there?" Kairi questioned him curiously. She giggled and wondered with great interest about what he might say. Since he was so set on making this work, it only seemed right to quiz the self-proclaimed leader and champion. "Are you like Sora? Will you be satisfied with just seeing it?"

"Hm..." Riku fell silent for a few minutes. I pulled my legs back and turned to the side, crossing one ankle over the other. My eyes trailed up to Riku as he closed his thoughtfully. Her questions went very deep within him. "To tell you the truth, I haven't really thought about it. It's just... I want to know why I, why we, ended up here on these islands. If there is another world out there, then why did we have to be on this one. And suppose there are other worlds out there... then ours is just a little piece of something much bigger. So we could have easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

"I don't get it."

Sora swung his leg around so that he was straddling the tree, and he laid back so that he could relax. That simple phrase was enough to prove Riku's point, I thought.

"Exactly." Riku unfolded his arms and stood closer to the edge of the island. "That's why we need to go out there and find out for ourselves. Just sitting here, staring at the endless ocean, won't change a single thing. It'll just be the same old scenery. It's the same old stuff. So let's go and do something."

Kairi looked up at the sky following Riku's drawn out rant, and Sora was occupied with looking at the sea. There was nothing wrong with what Riku said. I did find the ocean beautiful, and the same sunset we saw every night was never steering away from its usual path. Nothing was different from yesterday, save for us and our plans to leave. Only on occasion have we seen a storm hit the islands. They were only brief, and decent weather came in the next morning. I found it to be a predictable chain of events that never got off course.

I frowned and nodded my head. These islands were my home, and I loved them so very dearly. It was wonderful seeing another day come and go, with all the beautiful features they had, too. Maybe that was why I wanted to go out and set sail with Riku, Sora, and Kairi. Or, maybe it was a voice whispering to me, telling me to step out of my comfort zone. Yes, deep down, the desire to leave these islands was growing in intensity. I really didn't want to stay here all my life and do the same thing. To grow old here and fail to see the bigger picture outside this box. I wanted to see the outside world.

"You really think about a lot of stuff, don't you?" Kairi dropped her gaze and settled on Riku as he stood with his back to them.

"It's thanks to you," Riku answered, turning around. "Kairi, I think, if you never came to these islands... I'd have never thought of any of this. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She nodded and hopped down from the tree. "Well, I think I'm ready to turn in. Coming, everyone?"

"Yeah, I'm right behind ya." Sora followed Kairi down the bridge.

I was a little further behind everyone, but they didn't seem to notice me lagging. The moment we had together under the stars flattered my heart. There was no possible way for this atmosphere between us to change. Nothing ever would. Even if we were to step foot on another world, I was certain that we'd be together through it all. It felt so right. That included seeing those two in front of me bickering like they usually did. I was curious about why Sora was throwing a paopu fruit as far away as he could. Did Riku give it to him?

Softly laughing to myself, I followed the others to our boats at the dock. My eyes briefly landed on the paopu fruit down in the sand. It had a legend that gave these islands their name. Destinies becoming intertwined between those who share one of them. Our journey that would be beginning soon would be for all of us together, the four of us. I had a feeling that we'd come right back to that spot where we were sitting just moments ago at the end of it.

_"Nothing will change between us..."_


	5. Episode 1 - Part IV

**||Episode 1 - Part IV: Troubling Situation||**

***Mickey Mouse Club March*...[Disney Castle]**

The curl at the tip of his Royal Magician hat bounced in rhythm as the castles wise Donald Duck marched down the expansive hall. His webbed feet tapped at a fair pace down the red carpet. Passing by to his right were the broom workers assigned by the King. Naturally, considering his own position in the castle, Donald respectfully gave them a nod during his walk but nothing more. He was far too busy to be idle. There was an important meeting with the King that needed to be addressed, and the magician preferred to not be late for it.

Donald soon arrived at the massive doors to the chambers where the King remained. He stopped abruptly and turned into an attentive position as a soldier would. Clearing his throat, the Royal Magician knocked a familiar tune and waited to be allowed inside. Just in the nick of time did a smaller, more reasonable door for his size open up. Donald entered the great hall on the other side, taking yet another long walk to get to the King's throne. Unfortunately, he was still too far to see the King's face from where he was on the other side. It'd be just a moment. At least, he wanted to announce his presence.

"Good morning, Your Majesty!" Donald called out during his walk down the long, red carpet. Proudly striding along, he failed to notice the absence of the one he desired to speak with this morning. Eventually, he got to the throne and admired the black emblem on the front of it. That was the King's famous insignia used all around the castle. "It's nice to see you this morn- WHAT?!"

Panicked that he did not see the King anywhere in the chamber, Donald jammed his feathered fingers in his bill and trembled exceedingly. But, then Pluto came out from behind the throne. Of course he was there. The King loved to keep Pluto by his side all the time. He even had a dog bed set up right behind there. What was this that Donald noticed about the yellow dog? There was a small envelope sticking out of his mouth. It was a letter of some kind. A stamp from the King's hand was on it, too. That was a good sign, for Donald's mental state.

"Hm?" Donald opened the letter, finding that it was addressed to him. He read each line very carefully until getting to the very end. Two blinks. Waaaa-"

The magician skidded across the ground during his exit, and he ran all the way to the garden where he hoped to find someone trustworthy of what terrible news he had to offer. Reading the letter shook him to his core. He had to avoid running into certain figures within the castle at all costs, without regard to the last line in the note. Donald would have gone unnoticed, too, if it weren't for the trail of quacks he left behind.

Snores echoed throughout the garden. Goofy was lying in the grass, fully clothed in his knight armor. Donald soon found him in the shield knight's favorite napping spot. Forgetting the fact that he was sleeping on the job, Donald tried to wake his comrade and friend.

Get up, Goofy, get up!" Donald cried. "This is serious!"

No response save for the sawing of logs. Donald grumbled angrily at Goofy's laziness.

"Thunder!" the magician shouted, casting a bolt of electricity down on Goofy's head. It did the trick and woke the knight up. Donald watched him sit up and look around as though he had a nightmare.

"Hey there, Donald!" Goofy waved happily upon seeing his friend standing right beside him. He didn't seem to notice the steam rising from his head. "G'mornin'."

"Bad morning!" Donald shouted in his ear. "We've got a big problem, Goofy! But don't tell anyone..."

Goofy was certainly caught off guard, but he acknowledged the level of seriousness in Donald's tone of voice. He was about to ask him what the issue was, until he noticed someone very important enter the garden. In fact, there were two very prominent figures standing right behind Donald.

"Queen Minnie?" Goofy blinked. Although his vision was a little blurry. He rubbed his eyes and looked straight ahead at them and Donald.

"Not even the Queen!" Donald shook his head, firmly planting his hands on his hips.

"Daisy?" Goofy blinked again.

"Noo!" Donald vigorously shook his head. "It's top secret!"

"Uh, G'mornin', ladies!" Goofy bowed his head in greeting, ignoring Donald's remarks.

"What?" Donald turned around slowly to see the Queen and his dearest Daisy standing by. The look on Daisy's face told him that he was about to be in bigger trouble than what was addressed in the letter. Donald laughed nervously and rubbed his neck. "G-Good morning..."


	6. Episode 1 - Part V

**||Episode 1 - Part V: This World has been Connected||**

***Destiny Islands*...[Destiny Islands]**

I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. It was bright and early in the morning. The others would be heading off to the smaller islands to continue preparations for our big journey coming up. Sneaking around the mess of my bedroom, I took care of my morning routine as fast as I could. A hot shower to wake me up and a fresh set of clothes to wear out during the day's wild adventures. I found my favorite pair of capri pants and black tank top. Because the temperature was a little cooler this morning, I chose to wear a short-sleeved jacket over my top. Slipping into my black and white sneakers, I made my way downstairs for breakfast before going to the dock.

After eating, I walked down the winding dirt road running through the town. Lots of people were out doing their usual daily business. Sora's mother was at the flower shop. I didn't talk to her very often, but she worked there everyday to give the town the best business with her floral knowledge. His dad was just outside the shop working on something. I could see that it was woodwork of some kind, but I wasn't going to disturb him from his job.

"Morning!" I called out instead, waving to Sora's father on my way to the mainland's beach. He waved back and reciprocated the kind greeting.

Riku's parents were on the other side of town. Thankfully, I got to see them on my way out before they left for work. That was only the case because we were neighbors. I lived right across the street from Riku's family, which was pretty nice. Mornings like this were when we went out together to the small islands. It was different this time around, though. My guess was that Riku left earlier than usual to get to work.

Nonetheless, I got to my boat and paddled all the way to the other islands to join in on the fun. Selphie was sitting on the dock when I got there. Naturally, she had romance on the brain. She asked me if I knew about the legend of the paopu fruit. Regardless of me knowing all about it, she went on a tangent explaining its supposed powers. _If you share it with someone you really care for... it binds you together forever and ever through eternity._ I sighed and continued on with my morning. Riku said something like that yesterday, didn't he? Legends were just legends. I didn't really believe one little star-shaped fruit could do so much to bind people together.

I passed by Wakka next. He was standing near the small waterfall beside the shack. Whatever he was doing, I had little interest. But when I asked about what he was doing today, he went on about him and Tidus exploring some unknown part of the island. It sounded odd, because we already covered every inch of this island. _You know, there's a secret place at the base of that big tree_. I blinked and stood there quietly. "There's nothing interesting in there," was what I told Wakka to talk him out of it. I gave him the excuse that I had been in there a handful of times. Every time, nothing interesting was found. It worked, and he shrugged his own idea off. Thank goodness, too. There were so many embarrassing drawings inside there. It'd be awful if he and Tidus saw them.

As for Tidus, the 13-year-old was busy swinging his staff around on the paopu island. He was too busy training to talk, but he did mention something about challenging Riku to another match. I recall him, Selphie, and Wakka losing to a three-vs-one match. He discouraged anyone from fighting Riku. The result always ended up being the same. He won, everyone else lost. _Kairi can still count on him, I guess_. Those words annoyed me a little bit. I couldn't quite explain why, but I opted to walking away to find the others.

I found myself at the cove, sitting with Kairi on the finished raft. She was working on something, judging by the strings and seashells she had all over the place.

"Geez, where are those two?" Kairi blurted, setting down her project. "We're supposed to be working on finding provisions for our journey."

"Maybe we should look around for them..." I suggested. She agreed to it and joined me in heading down to the other side of the island. On the way there, I nearly lost my balance on an unstable piece of wood on the old bridge. "Whoa! Watch your step. Looks like we have a loose board here."

"Uh, oh, better warn the others." She sighed. "Huh? Oh, there they are! Look at that, they're looking ready for another match."

"Looks like it," I nodded in amusement. "I don't know what about..."

"You guys at it again?" Kairi called out to them. The boys were standing close with an air of competition forming around them. "All right, it's the usual today. A race around the cove will do for now. Take any route you want. First one to tag the star tree and make it back here first wins!"

"If I win, uh... I'm captain!" Sora announced as Kairi and I approached. "And if you win..."

"I get to share the paopu fruit with Kairi." Riku's words were firm as he smiled to himself. It certainly caught Sora off guard, what he said. I was within earshot when he said it, and immediately I felt a twinge in my chest. He was grinning and looking over at Sora. "Deal? Winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi?"

"Wha... wait a minute!" Sora became flustered.

"Ready? Set? Go!" Kairi shouted, sending the boys off.

I stepped back as Riku dashed down the bridge to the zip-line. Sora got off to a delayed start, but he was at Riku's heels all the way._ 'Did he really mean that?'_ I wondered as they ran their course. That was the first time he said anything about sharing a paopu with Kairi. I couldn't tell if he was being serious about it or not. It sounded like a serious thing. Or, was it just something to really get under Sora's skin? We both knew that he had a crush on Kairi.

_Riku..._

He and I were the same age and attended all of the same classes in school. Over summer break, we've been doing just about everything together. Of course we had Sora and Kairi as company, but I was always heading out first with Riku. Maybe it meant nothing to him... I thought there was something about it, though. The fluttering feelings he always gave my heart. Some kind of feeling was there. But, now, whenever I thought about his intentions in winning this race, it made me feel upset. Even looking at Kairi got me all flustered. I chose to keep the redness in my cheeks suppressed. They didn't need to know that I was feeling jealous or anything, certainly with it being toward a friend.

In under a few minutes, Sora came running back to us with a triumphant grin. "I made it back first!"

Sora was pumped up that he had beat Riku in a race. I was pretty glad that he came out on top, too.

"Man, lighten up." Riku came up from behind Sora with a cool expression. "It's just a name, after all."

"What?" Sora dropped his smile. "But you said-"

"You said you'd get to be captain of the raft if you won," Riku rolled his eyes.

"A race to name the raft?" I blurted, nearly losing my composure. "That was all this was about?"

"What'd you think it was about?" Riku put his hands on his hips.

"N-Nothing..." I sighed. "Anyway, what're we working on today, Kairi?"

I managed to shift the conversation to something else when Riku started questioning me about what I was thinking concerning his race. Thankfully, Kairi went with the flow and handed out jobs. To my relief, I was sent out to collect wild mushrooms from around the island and get fresh water for our bottles. It was easy to do that job, because everything around these parts was edible and safe to eat, too. Riku had the task of fishing and gathering seagull eggs. How we were supposed to cook them was beyond me, but Kairi had a plan. And, Sora was out collecting a basket of coconuts for the trip.

**間**

My bag was full of lots of mushrooms I found all over the place. Behind bushes, inside small caves. There were tons growing on the island. But, there was still more that I could find to make sure we had enough of a supply. Peering into my bag, I could see that a few more could be squeezed inside. Perhaps the best place to investigate for mushrooms would be the secret place Wakka was talking to me about. I remember seeing a group of them growing in the soil a while back. _'Hm... the dirt in there must be pretty fertile for the mushrooms. Better check it out.'_

I wandered down the sandy path near the waterfall. Turning around, I could see Riku standing in the water with a fishing pole in his hands. He was still trying to catch fish out there. Kairi and Sora were still walking around. Nodding to myself, I ducked under the vines and shrubs to get into the tunnel. The secret place was quiet, filled only with the sound of wind blowing in from an opening in the cave's roof. Sunlight was pouring inside, which led me to a nice spot where large mushrooms were growing. I smirked and plucked them from the ground, filling the bag up to the brim. At this rate, another bag would be needed.

"That should do it." I determined after closing up the backpack. "The others should be close to being done right about now. Maybe I'll..."

Turning around, I saw all the drawings the four of us ever did during our childhood. They were amusing to see now that I was older. "Draw something."

On one of the rocks, I drew a picture of Sora and Riku fighting a weird blob-like monster. They had shining swords in their hands, like real warriors. Kairi was behind them- the princess of this make-believe story. Why I drew the scene like that was beyond me, but I did it that way. Finding no drawing of myself, I drew me with a sword below Sora's picture. The three of us could fight well, so I wanted to make sure I was helping them out. Even though I had no interest in sharing some fruit with Kairi, I could still keep her safe from "dangers". She was like a sister to me in that.

"Huh? Is it getting dark already?" I stood up from my idle activity and looked around. There was less sunlight coming into the secret place now. "Guess I spent a little too much time in here. The others might get worried if I take too long."

When I turned to leave the secret place, I dropped the rock I was drawing with and moved to exit through the tunnel. But a chill running down my spine stopped me in my tracks. I gasped and turned around. Someone was back there, watching me from the shadows. Their presence was faint, but I knew there was a person.

"W-Who is that?" I stuttered, searching the shadows with squinted eyes. Looking into the darkness of the cave made me shiver. I didn't want to be in there anymore.

_A hissing breath_.

I gritted my teeth. There, in behind a tree root, I could see a figure standing. Whoever it was wore a brown cloak with belts draped over their chest.

"I've come to see the door to this world," the mysterious figure spoke. Judging by their voice, I determined it to be a man. I was confused by his words. The door to this world? By door, did he mean the one at the end of this cave? My eyes wandered to it. The brown frame with gold trim. It had no doorknob or anything. Basically, it was just a slab of wood in the wall. I doubted that there was any purpose for it. "You see, child, this world has been connected."

"Connected?" I narrowed my eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Tied to the darkness..." the man answered, stepping out of the shadows. I could see no face, yet he was able to speak clearly. "Soon to be completely eclipsed. That is what I speak of. Do you yet understand?"

"How could I?" I shook my head at him. "You're doing nothing but creeping me out!"

"My... apologies..." the man hissed.

"W... Where did you come from, anyway?" I softened my tone a little. Curiosity bloomed inside me concerning this mysterious man. He was unlike anyone I had ever seen. There was no way he was someone's parent. They wouldn't go this far to scare me. But, then the idea popped into my head. Someone who didn't look familiar. He couldn't be from these islands. "Could you have come from another world?"

"Perhaps, but I am not the only one." The man said, but then his obscured gaze became fixated on the door. I followed in suite and examined the plain wood, but I quickly turned my head back to keep an eye on him. "You do not hold knowledge of what lies beyond this door. Memories sealed away. And for what? Nothing but false hope."

"My memories." I touched my head lightly with my fingers. "I don't know what you mean. My memories were sealed?"

"You have much to learn," he went on to say. "It is unfair for you to have no memory of who you once were. But I can help you."

I gripped the strap of the backpack tightly and gulped. This man was unnerving to be around. How did he get here? He couldn't have come from the door. It couldn't be opened, unless it was from the other side. I couldn't say that I was entirely afraid. He said something that intrigued me. Somehow, this guy knew that I had no memories of... of a time that I cannot recall. He said he could help me, but it'd be wrong to turn to some stranger.

"I... I'll pass on the help, mister!" I half-yelled. Turning on my heels, I ran as fast as I could out of the secret place. Whether he was following me or not, I couldn't care less. Riku was the nearest one at the seashore. His task of catching fish and picking up some bird's eggs was complete. At least I got all the mushrooms and water before running back to him.

**間**

"Tomorrow is the big day."

Riku was walking with me back through town. He claimed that it was because we lived so close by and that we'd have time to talk about all our plans on the way. It was so like him. Even when we were done working, he had the tendency to keep rambling on about the adventure we were about to go on. I simply nodded in response to his talking. My mind was so caught up on that weird moment back in the secret place.

"Hey, Lu, are you listening?" Riku nudged me in the arm, and I nearly toppled over a bush when he did. I snapped out of whatever trance I was stuck in and avoided tripping. "Geez, you're almost as bad as Sora when it comes to daydreaming. What gives?"

"S-Sorry..." I dropped my eyes to the ground. "I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Yeah?" Riku raised a brow. "Well, keep your eyes peeled next time. Let's go home."

"Say, Riku..." I stopped him again, grabbing his arm. He paused and faced me with a curious look in his eye. "Have you ever seen a man in a dark coat?"

"Here on the island?" He asked me. I nodded, but he responded with a shake of his head. "Can't say I did. Something happen?"

"Mm, it's nothing serious." I lied blatantly in his face, though he said nothing about it. Riku merely nodded and continued down the road to his house. I quietly walked next to him until I got to the front door of my house. Surprisingly, Riku walked me all the way there. "Goodnight, Riku."

"Night," he smiled softly. Before I could close the door, however, his hand pressed against it to hold it open. I blinked and stared at him for a moment. Riku looked a little flustered. It was unlike him to be that way. "H-Hold on a second, Lu. I forgot. There's something I got for you. Here, hold out your hands."

I did as he asked of me, and Riku dropped something in my hands. It wasn't a wrapped gift or grand present. Today wasn't even my birthday, so I wondered why he bothered to get me something like this. Sitting in the palms of my hands was a beautiful star charm. _'Where did he get this from?'_

"Tonight... Tonight makes it five years." Riku's voice dipped a little. He took a step back and frowned. "The day I found you sitting alone on the other island."

"I almost forgot..." I breathed. Although I was sure these islands had been my home ever since I was born, there was that day when I somehow ended up on the other islands where we often played. No memories of how I got there or why.

"I haven't forgotten," he told me. "Lu, I promise you. I promise to help you get your memories back, whatever was lost."

"Thank you," I smiled at him. "Maybe there will be something out there connected to my past."

"Yeah, let's hope," Riku agreed. "Night."


	7. Episode 1 - Part VI

**||Episode 1 - Part VI: The Letter||**

***It Began with a Letter*...[Disney Castle]**

_Donald, _

_Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's trouble brewin'. _

_Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all, but I've gotta go check into it. _

_There's someone with a "key"- the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find 'em, and stick with 'em. Got it? _

_We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction. _

_P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal._

**...**

The library was silent. Queen Minnie was hardly able to hide how concerned she was upon reading her dearest husband's letter addressed to Donald. She had a deep frown on her face and fought back the tears threatening to leak from her eyes. All that she really did know was that the King was out there, somewhere, all alone. It was a profoundly important mission he was on. And, by the looks of it, it was going to be a dangerous one.

Daisy looked to the queen, then back to the letter. She was equally concerned by the lack of detail shared by His Majesty. But, could she really say it wasn't like him to just run off when something serious came up? Perhaps she wasn't all that worried about him. When it came to the safety of the king, he was more than capable of protecting himself. Daisy mentally nodded to herself and prepared to lay a supporting hand on Minnie's shoulder, but then her mind blanked. She hadn't the words to speak, except...

"Oh, dear... What could this mean?" Daisy said, finally breaking the silence. She sighed sadly and wandered over to Pluto's bed, where the dog slumbered peacefully. _At least someone could get a decent wink of sleep during a time like this_, was what she had running through her mind. Daisy placed a bone into his bowl, then leaned her side against the oak table.

"It means we'll just have to put out trust in King Mickey," Queen Minnie stated confidently, refining her faith in her beloved. The queen placed the letter on the desk, next to a stack of books detailing all there was to be known about the world and the light within it. "But... I do worry for his safety."

"Gwarsh, I sure hope he's all right," Goofy tugged nervously at his lip.

"Your Highness," Donald stepped forward with his hand over his heart. Goofy's words resonated with the royal magician. Of course, it gave him the courage necessary to boldly take on this task that the King was leaving on his shoulders. "Don't worry. We'll find King Mickey and this _key_."

"Thank you, both of you." Queen Minnie turned to face her trusted friends and defenders.

"Daisy, can you take care of-"

"Of course!" Daisy cut Donald off, seemingly already knowing what it was he needed to burden her with. "You be careful, now, you two."

"Oh, and to chronicle your travels, _he_ will accompany you," the queen said, gesturing to someone standing at the table.

Donald searched the table and everywhere around it. There was no person standing there, just some books and a container of ink. Laughing sheepishly, Donald scratched his head and pretended to see who the queen was referring to. It wasn't until he saw a tiny figure jumping up and down when Donald realized who their guest was. He sighed in relief. He wasn't losing his mind or anything at all.

"Over here!" the fancily dressed cricket stopped jumping and removed his hat politely when they noticed him. Clearing his throat, he adjusted his ascot and grinned. "Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service!"

"We hope for your safe return. Please help the king," Queen Minnie spoke once more to Donald and Goofy. Donald saluted the queen and Daisy as he prepared to set off for Traverse Town. The queen, Daisy, and- Donald paused a moment in annoyance. Goofy was standing there as if he wasn't being called to embark on a journey.

"Hey!" Donald quacked loudly at his accomplice. "You aren't avoiding your duties. You're coming, too!"

**間**

Donald and Goofy traveled back to the gardens with Jiminy riding along on Goofy's helmet. They wandered through a hidden passage way and descended a spiraling staircase to the lower grounds. Silence seemed to be their worst enemy, or it was mainly Goofy's. The shield knight struck conversation with the chronicler, inquiring about his life and adventures. According to Queen Minnie, it was only recently when Jiminy Cricket showed up to the castle with the King.

And what a great and terrible tale it was coming from Jiminy. Losing track of all his friends and others he knew. The last thing Mr. Cricket saw of his world was a great deal of darkness ruining everything. Goofy gasped at every thrilling part of the story, he could barely stand to listen anymore.

"Gwarsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?" he questioned at the end of Jiminy's story.

"It was terrible!" Jiminy said, nodding his head. Every step Goofy took down the stairs made him bounce up and down. Nonetheless, he was able to continue on with what he had to say about the matter. "We were all scattered when the darkness came into the picture. As far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle."

"Goofy..." Donald grumbled, looking back over his shoulder. "Did you forget?"

"Oh, right... I gotcha!" Goofy nodded in understanding. "Ya mean, while we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from, huh? We've gotta protect the world border."

"Order!" Donald corrected him.

"Right! World order," Goofy said in correction. "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there."

"I already packed our stuff in the gummi ship," Donald told him as they entered the gummi garage. They walked in during the prime production time. Giant hands were maneuvered over their heads to different points in the garage for a variety of work. The royal magician made his way to the communication phone to speak with the engineers in charge of the place. "Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready."

_"Yes, sir!"_

Chip saluted, and rushed over to a lever to get them boarded onto the gummi ship. Dale, a fellow engineer apart of the crew, pressed some buttons to move the hands over to Donald and the others. One by one, they were loaded onto the ship unceremoniously. And, to the surprise of Donald, Pluto came running into the garage and jumped right into the cockpit with him and Goofy.

The gates opened, and the gummi ship fired up its engines. Queen Minnie and Daisy came in time to see them off, and Donald gave his signature wink to the ladies before signaling for the launch. "Blast off!"

Unexpectedly, however, a big red arrow pointed downward and confused the trio. A gate directly below the gummi ship opened up and the engines cut off, dropping them down through a secret tunnel. It happened to drop them right into the vast void of space, also known as the ocean of stars. The gummi ship did as it was supposed to this time, blasting off for Traverse Town.


	8. Episode 1 - Part VII

**||Episode 1 - Part VII: The Door has Opened||**

***Fragments of Sorrow*...[Dive into the Heart]**

_A __**dream**__._

_I was trapped inside this same dream again. At some point, the darkness swallowed me whole and plunged me into the depths of a deep void. There was no light, save the dim glow of the very first platform I landed on during the initial dream. I got the hang of moving within that place, though. It was like I was simply picking up from my last visit. And, the dream sword was back in my hands. What made this time different was how real it felt. I was breathing hard as more of the shadowy monsters surrounded me. Their numbers were high, and I was defeating so few with the sword. Was it really just another dream?_

_There was no voice to guide me. Rather, an unseen spirit of some kind led the way as I fought to defeat the enemies attacking me. A way was opened up to other platforms- white and glowing stairs ascending the darkness. The shadows appeared on them, too, but I was able to run along and cut them down. Still... I turned every which way possible to see if there was any room for escape. A door had to be somewhere to let me out of this place. Or, maybe a mysterious light could snatch me away and return me back to the islands. No. Nothing of the sort. I was being left alone to fend for myself._

_But, in the midst of the conflict, I found the strength to wipe out the hostile shadows. The others lingering around escaped while they still could. I had thought that they escaped, at least. Those pools of darkness remained open rather than dissolving away. Instead, they expanded to fill up half of the platform I stood on. Something was rising from it- something big!_

**_The half that rules light... and the half that rules darkness._**

_I gritted my teeth as the darkness morphed into a raging sphere. Such an immense power coming from it. It frightened me and forced me into backing away to the very edge of the platform. The storming dark matter did eventually cease, but my eyes beheld something much more menacing. A tall and toned figure made purely of darkness like the shadows were. It had long arms and sharp claws. Long antennae protruded from the head, running down past the shoulders. My eyes trailed downward, spotting a hole in its chest. The hole was heart-shaped and displayed glowing blue veins from the rigid outline._

**_Prove to me that you have what it takes to reign over this heart. Weakness cannot withstand the darkness._**

_'Who are you?!' I mouthed the words, unable to make them audible. The hideous being that approached me paused in its movement, though I could only tell that it did since the arms stopped moving. There were no legs beneath it, save for a transparent tail that whipped back and forth. 'What do you want with me? I... I...'_

**_I... am you._**

**_*Music End*_**

**間**

"No!" My eyes snapped open and my body jolted upright. Fear sent cold chills down my back as I breathed hard. Every labored breath pained me until I was able to regain my composure. It was just another dream, I thought to myself. There was nothing more to it. Although it scared me half to death, I had nothing to fear about being back in my bedroom. I took a little bit of time in calming down my nerves after the nightmare. Sweat was even rolling down my cheeks. "I... I'm okay..."

The dream was similar to the one I had yesterday. I was stuck in that dark place with no escape, and there were monsters everywhere. It was definitely a nightmare. Dreams were peaceful and made me happy. That one had no such quality. It frightened me deeply, too, and I couldn't think back to it without shivering under the covers. Then, I wouldn't think about it anymore because it did that to me.

I threw the blanket off my legs and stood in the middle of my dark room. Nighttime had finally come after hours of wasting time at home. It wasn't even time for bed, yet here I was waking up. In my defense, I was feeling incredibly tired after a long day of running around the islands with the others. No one would ever criticize me over my lazy behavior, though. Riku was an exception, but he didn't live with me. In fact, no one did. The old couple that used to live in this home went away a long time ago, but the mayor let me stay to keep their home in good shape. Someone always came over to check in on me.

_Alone_.

Living alone didn't bother me all that much. I could live without having some adult telling me what I could and couldn't do. Chores were nothing but a daily task that needed to be done. I did them without complaint. Shopping for food was no problem with the allowance I got from the mayor. I could live any way I wanted, yet I chose to be an obedient and disciplined child. Yet... I forgot to make myself a plate of dinner.

I moaned softly when my stomach growled. The downstairs lit up promptly when I came jogging down the stairs. In the kitchen, I prepared a sub sandwich to eat along with a large bag of chips. It was a simple meal, but I was satisfied with a full belly. Now I could go back to bed feeling content about the day.

"Hm?" I was on my way back upstairs when I noticed something out of the first window to my left. It was a real attention grabber, making me go back down into the living room to see what it was. Outside my home, I saw something scary lingering in the night sky. The dark night gave no issue with seeing the thunder clouds coming closer. "It looks like a storm is coming. A big one."

The forecast didn't say anything about a thunderstorm this week, making me wonder about the reasons behind the inaccuracy. Usually, it was not troubling to predict what the weather was going to be like around these parts. I knew the islands had their occasional storms. The summer time had surprisingly few. We were approaching the tail end and going into a season where storms weren't very typical. This was hardly strange, so I thought little of it.

_'If there is going to be a storm, then I should go and secure the raft.'_ My mind flickered to the finished raft that we put together the other day. If that storm was going to be a big one, like I thought it was going to be, then it needed to be pulled into a safer location. Being close to the water would risk it being pulled out to sea. I could at least manage getting it closer to the coconut trees. They were strong and sturdy, so the winds weren't likely to knock them over. The others would thank me tomorrow for being so brave as to secure our ticket to getting off Destiny Islands. I was so sure they'd thank me a million times for my _kind service_.

Grabbing my flashlight and a jacket, I slipped outside and ran down the dirt road to the beach. Three boats were lined up. But, there were usually four sitting in the sand. I looked around, waving the flashlight to try and spot the missing boat. It wasn't anywhere on the beach. Did that mean that someone went to the other island?

I put the thought aside about someone else going to the island across the way. If anyone was there, then I knew I had someone's help in taking care of the raft and our supplies. I pushed my small boat into the water and got in. Taking the single paddle in my hand, I paddled all the way through the darkness to get to the neighboring dock. There was the other boat when I arrived. It was sitting in the water, tied to the wooden post. I noticed the name engraved into it.

"Riku?"

I gasped in surprise. My immediate thought was that he saw the storm coming, too. I wasted no time in getting out, and I hurried to the cove to set things right. The wind was beginning to pick up as I walked down the old bridge. A loose board came undone and fell through with my foot. It scared me, and I ended up screaming as a result of my fall into the cold water.

"Waah! C-C-Cold..." I emerged from the water and quickly got back onto dry land. My clothes were soaked now, to my dismay. But, I carried on with my task and got to where the raft was. There was no one by myself there. Riku wasn't around. "T-That's odd. I could've sworn I saw his boat."

_'Either way, I'd better take care of this...'_ I grabbed a rope attached to the raft and pulled with all my might. The raft slowly but surely came up on the sand; I dragged it all the way to the coconut trees like I wanted. There, it would be safe from the storm. I even took the chance to grab all the bags of food and jars of water away to a small cave. It'd be a decent shelter from the rain.

"There, t-that should do it," I nodded, shivering a bit. The cold really liked to nip. If I didn't get back home as quick as I could, I'd end up getting sick. I didn't want that to happen with our journey to the outside world coming up in the morning. So, I quickly ran back to the other side of the island, where the boat was waiting. But, when I reached the door, I slowed to a staggering halt. "Ugh... Uh... What...?"

My head was feeling foggy, it was like I couldn't see straight. With a groan, I put my hand against the wooden door to keep myself standing. _'What's wrong with me?'_

**Can you feel the darkness?**

"Can I... feel the darkness?" I gritted my teeth. Suddenly and without any warning, there was a loud cracking sound and a rumble. The rumbling spontaneously turned into a quake that sent me tumbling to the ground. I landed on my side as the earth trembled violently. "W-What's happening?!"

The dizziness was slowly going away. What was that voice? What caused the islands to shake and thrash about? A terribly strong wind crashed into me as I tried to sit up, and it nearly knocked me over. I struggled against it and got up to my feet. The trees were swaying in a violent manner while small shrubs were ripped out of the ground. I worried that a terrible disaster was raging all around. Getting back to the mainlands would be impossible with how wild the waves were acting.

"The raft..." I turned to look past the bridge, which crumbled into the water. Even the refined zip-line tower collapsed. I backed into the door and retreated to the other side. There was no checking on our things back there. It'd be suicide trying to get through the water alone. "I-I have to get out of here!"

I staggered along as the storm continued. Sticking close to the wall, I made my way to the safest place I knew of. The secret place was my best chance at staying safe in this mess compared to the old shack. It'd be ripped apart in a matter of time, what with all this devastating weather rampaging about. Somewhere back there, I had lost my flashlight. However, I was granted a source of light coming from up above. It had a reddish tint to it. No ordinary light did that, even at night.

"What is that?" I looked up into the sky, seeing a giant ball of... I didn't know what. It was hovering overhead with swirling clouds around it. My eyes caught sight of a current winding around the vortex, and I could see that it was pulling all kinds of things into it. Trees, water, sand, and so on. Everything was getting sucked in by the massive energy. It glowed red and purple. I could feel a terrible sensation within my chest. "D-Darkness."

_"...Lu...! Lu! Is that you?!"_

Gasping, I looked around wildly to see who was calling out my name. It was hard to hear with the wind screaming in my ears, but I saw Sora running over to me from the dock. He looked like he saw a ghost. The 14-year-old nearly crashed right into me, but I was able to catch him in my arms before he did.

"Sora?" I blinked a couple of times, feeling relief upon realizing that it really was him. My vision was returning to how it was- normal and without haze. He was panting hard after his run. I let go of Sora, pulling away to see the fear-stricken expression of his face. "You look terrible! What's happening?"

"I-I... I'd like to know what, too!" He shouted in my face. Although, I was thankful he did with how hard of hearing I was. Sora shook his head and turned around to point at something by the dock. I peered over his shoulder and followed his point to see something crawling toward us. My eyes widened with shock at the sight of them, those several dozens of _monsters_ approaching. "What are those things?!"

"It can't be..." I muttered under my breath, realizing that those were the very monsters I saw and fought against in my dreams. This had to be a dream, too, but I was proved wrong when one of them lunged at me. Its claws dug into my shoulder and cut me. The pain was intense, unlike anything I have ever felt. Yet, the wound was not bleeding as an ordinary one would. I grimaced at the sight of dark wisps rising from my injury. "Agh!"

"C'mon!" Sora grabbed my arm and pulled me away to the shack. He made sure we avoided all of them until we got behind the door. Amazingly, they didn't dare follow us inside, but I was certain that they'd try and barge in at some point. Sora held his back to the door while I stumbled further into the shack. I slumped to the ground and leaned against the wall. Getting hurt by those things sapped a surprising amount of strength from my body. It was like every muscle was burning. "Lu! Are you okay? That looks painful..."

I couldn't bring myself to look into Sora's bright blue eyes. The strength I once had was dwindling, though I doubted that it'd be the end of the road. Swallowing a painful lump in my throat, I clenched my teeth and dragged myself back to my feet with Sora's help. My hand pressed against the wound on my right shoulder. If this was what that voice meant by feeling the darkness, then I could definitely feel it. I wanted to laugh at the cynical thought.

"I'll be fine," I said, but it might have been a lie. At any given moment, I'd probably keel over and lie flat on my face. Sora would have to drag me all the way back here if that were to happen. Then where would we be? That giant vortex in the sky would... I clamped my eyes shut. Realization struck hard. It was no dream. The islands were being torn apart by the storm- the one I thought would be nothing to worry about. Heavy was my doubt. Destiny Islands would have a hard time withstanding this one compared to any other we faced, especially with those monsters out there. "Do you think... everyone back in town will be okay...?"

"I don't know." Sora said sadly, his eyes dropping as he held my left arm. He glanced over at the door, which was being rattled by the strong winds. Boards from the roof of the shack were being removed by the suction of the vortex, so we could see the lightning flashing outside. Yellow eyes. Those creatures were also peering in from up there. They were waiting for us to make a move. "We have to worry about ourselves right now! C'mon, I think I saw someone standing by the paopu tree. Maybe we'll run into Riku and Kairi there. I'll help you..."

"But the monsters..." I protested a little. "They're probably waiting for us. Once we go out-"

"T-Then we fight!" Sora said firmly, finding our wooden swords. They were stored away in a small box in this shack. How well they would put up in a fight against real monsters was about to be tested I supposed. It beat having nothing, at least. "Let's go!"

**間**

***Night of Fate*...[Destiny Islands - Ruined]**

Sora led the way down the bridge as we ran from the collapsing shack. The shadow monsters appeared all over the bridge to catch us off guard, but we ran by without a second thought. It was Sora who tried to fend them off with his practice sword. But, just as I thought, it didn't work. The wood could not do any damage. Rather, it just bounced off their round heads and bumped Sora on his forehead. I decided to not waste my time with fighting them. Instead, I pursued the figure standing on the island ahead of us. Sora was trying to catch up to me.

_'Ah! It's him!'_ I gasped and strained a smile when I saw Riku's back to me. It was amazing that he was standing as still as a statue in all of this chaos. But, regardless of how he stood there, I was glad to see one of our friends around. I glanced behind me to see if Sora was coming. He was still halfway down the bridge, but he was on his way. The monsters knew I was already across, but they did not follow me. It was strange. But, I turned my full attention to Riku and walked up to him.

"Riku?" I called out to him, but he didn't turn around. Maybe he didn't hear me. I walked around so that I could stand face to face with my friend, but his eyes were locked on the thing in the sky. Where we stood, it was directly over our heads. The storm's currents were weaker at this point but menacing everywhere else. "Hey."

"Lu." Riku spoke my name and dropped his gaze to meet with me eye to eye. Something was different about the way he looked at me. It seemed so... cold. Like, he was uncaring and closed himself off. This was unlike the Riku I knew to be my friend. Not that I cared about that. There was a storm and monsters attacking. Riku was my friend, and we needed to get Sora and Kairi out of here. "This is it. Our way to the outside world."

"That?!" I stared at him as though he were out of his mind. My eyes briefly trailed up to the vortex. It didn't look like something we could actually use. Safely. I tightly held my shoulder and shook my head at him. "Riku, the islands are falling apart! We have to find Kairi and get out of here. It's dangerous."

"Maybe, but I'm here," he said. "I'll keep us all safe."

I wanted to ask him how he could possibly accomplish that when we're already in a terrible state. Those things Sora managed to get through were still trying to nip at his neck. He managed to get away from them and make it to us. They stopped following him when he did.

"Riku!" Sora shouted at the top of his lungs. Our talk was over, and we looked to the spiky-haired boy who was still in a panic. I closed my mouth and tried to find a way to talk to Riku. "Where's Kairi?! I thought she was here with you!"

"The door... has _opened_." Riku's words were indescribably unnerving. I felt an unfamiliar sensation bubbling in my stomach. It was nothing like fear. Or, rather, it must have been something much worse than that. There wasn't a word I could use to actually explain it. I just didn't feel right with this at all. _'The door?'_ I wondered.

"What?" Sora tilted his head to the side, confused by Riku.

"The door has opened, Sora!" Riku repeated, but this time snapping out of his standoffish behavior. He clenched his hands into tight fists and turned his back on me to face Sora. I noticed that he still wore that peculiar smirk. "Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What're you talking about?" Sora shook his head, pushing the idea aside. He wasn't worried so much about getting off the islands. I clenched my jaw, feeling certainty that Kairi was somewhere out there in this mess. Fear crept inside me as I worried about the danger she was in. Those things lurking around the island could have been attacking her this very moment. How were we supposed to help her without having anything to fight back with? "C'mon, you guys! We've gotta go find Kairi and get out of here!"

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku argued back, stunning Sora with his tone of voice. I wanted to reach out and grab Riku by the shoulder. He was speaking nonsense to mine and Sora's ears. Whatever about the door. The islands were far more important right now. And, yet, he was so fixated by escaping to the world beyond this one. "Once we step through... we might not be able to come back here. We may never see our parents and friends again. But, there's no turning back. This may be our only shot. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

Riku's left hand slipped behind him, extending back to me while his other hand reached for Sora. His eyes fell dark as he turned to look at me. It was like he was asking me what I was waiting for. But, what he was asking for us to do- _demanding_\- frightened me to my core.

**Step through the darkness, and you will be one step closer to the truth...**

A voice whispered in my mind. I witnessed darkness spreading out from underneath Riku's feet. Vines of that very dark matter wrapped around his legs and up his body. I gasped and took a step forward. That stuff was going to take Riku away from me and our friends. He couldn't go... not without me!

I boldly made an attempt to grab Riku's hand, but the darkness appeared under me and tried to engulf my body. My hand wouldn't move any further. On the other side, Sora was getting caught up in the same thing. The darkness was winding around all three of us, pulling us into its depths. But what did that matter? I was intent on taking Riku's hand before he was gone. Maybe the darkness led to the unknown, but... _'I'm not afraid of the darkness, either! I just want my friend...'_

My fingers inched to his hand, but it was too late. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make it in time to Riku. The darkness enveloped all of me, preventing me from going anywhere. I saw nothing but pitch black. No islands. None of my friends. The raging storm seemed to be silenced. I couldn't see or feel anything, like my body had gone numb. The darkness was so suffocating...

**It is time! Awaken the true power of your heart and withstand the darkness. Show weakness no more.**

In the midst of the darkness, a light shined and broke through the heavy fog shrouding over me. I felt freedom returning to my limbs. The darkness was repelled, and I stood again on the small island. Strong winds rammed straight into me upon the darkness's fleeting. That was right. There was still a massive storm going on. I could still see the vortex in the sky. More parts of the island were broken off and pulled into the dark orb. Only the paopu tree remained on the small island, because the others were pulled from their respective places.

"What happened...?" I wondered out loud as a strange feeling came over me. It was like my body was lighter than before and stronger. More importantly, I saw that Riku was nowhere to be seen. The darkness must have swept him away from here. He was probably not even in this world anymore. Sorrow pushing down on my shoulders threatened to overcome me, but I pushed it off and looked up at the sky. My eyes landed on the growing vortex. "The darkness... I won't let it take anyone else from me!"

_Flash!_

Suddenly and without warning, something appeared in the palm of my left hand. The light was so powerful and brilliant. I squinted my eyes until it dimmed down, then I saw the light-weighted sword. It did seem to be some kind of sword, anyway. Key-shaped and simple in design, but there was no edge to actually cut with. The guard was a deep blue and the rounded blade was a smooth silver. A five-point star made up the sword's teeth. The very tip had a ball on it, and on the other side was a single spike. My eyes trailed down, seeing the gold star making up a little token.

_Keyblade..._

The very word was not as foreign as I thought it'd be. Another voice echoing inside my head spoke the word- the name of this sword. I held it up for my eyes to examine closely. This _Keyblade_ looked old and scratched up along the body of the blade. It was like someone used it intensely in battle.

"Starlight." I spoke softly to myself and smiled. The name just popped into my head, but it sounded perfect. Lowering the Keyblade, I glanced around to get a good view of the situation. That was when I saw another bright flash of light some feet ahead of me. A dark mass was exploded by the light. Sora stumbled out of it, and he was holding a key-shaped sword, too. I grinned and jogged over to him. "Sora!"

"L-Lu?!" he stuttered, regaining his composure. We were reunited shortly after the darkness tried to take us, but the trouble was far from over. There was not enough time to hug and talk about what just happened, for numerous monsters rose from the ground and had us surrounded. "Uh... I guess we fight!"

The big worry was if these Keyblades would do the trick to get rid of them. I took a practice swing against one that lunged at me, and I was astonished to see that one hit was able to eliminate it. Unlike my wooden sword, Starlight was capable of vanquishing the threat. Sora took that as his cue to take out another pair of shadow monsters. However, as we ran everywhere we could to figure out where our missing friends were, we saw that more hoards of monsters came with every one that was defeated. It was endless.

"Is that a door?" I stopped in the middle of the beach after clearing a bunch of enemies. A pure white door sat in front of the entrance to the secret place. It was never there before, maybe until just recently. "I think we'll be safe if we go through there."

"But, what about Kairi?" Sora asked, grabbing my sore arm. I winced but shrugged off the pain. "Riku's gotta be somewhere out here, too!"

"Riku's gone..." I said lowly, reminding him of the dark portal he was taken through. We still had no idea where Kairi was, but there was a chance she was on the other side of that door. I was getting a strange feeling that something important was there. It was as though there was a dwindling light. "Kairi has to be there. I just know it! Come on, Sora, we have to look everywhere."

"A-Alright," he nodded slowly.

Together, we ran past the waterfall and avoided the incoming monsters. The door was unlocked and opened by itself when we approached it. I crawled down under the vines, followed by Sora. _'Kairi...'_ I gritted my teeth as the door closed behind us. The feeling was getting stronger. I could just hear her calling out for us...


	9. Episode 1 - Epilogue

**||Episode 1 - Epilogue: Cast Away||**

***Night of Fate*...[Storm Tossed Islands]**

"Kairi!"

Sora called out to our friend, who was standing inside the small cavern of the secret place. I stood back, waiting for him to get her so that we could hurry out of here. Something seemed different, though. The secret place was eerily silent. A heavy atmosphere weighed on my shoulders. _Kairi_. She was equally quiet with her back to us. Regardless of Sora shouting out her name, Kairi was so very slow to react to his voice.

"_Sora_..." I watched Kairi turn around slowly as he ran up to her. The expression she wore was one of exhaustion and weakness. Kairi appeared sick and ready to collapse. Her tone of voice was low and weak, too. I knew that there was something awfully wrong with her, but I didn't know what. When I took a step forward, Kairi's eyes fluttered and locked onto me. A very small smile spread on her face. "Lu...xe..."

I gasped softly. Although she simply called me by my name, I felt surprised. Everyone only ever referred to me by the shortened 'Lu'. Suddenly, it was like I wanted to be sick to my stomach. That creeping feel was getting even stronger. It was becoming increasingly difficult suppressing it.

"Kairi, we have to get out of here!" Sora said, seemingly unaffected by the heavy weight of the air. "Kairi?"

The auburn-haired girl turned around to us fully. Her expression suddenly became serious as she reached her hand out, in a manner slightly different than how Riku did. But, when she did, the door behind her swung wide open. A thick miasma of darkness rushed out along with a great burst of wind. I clung to the wall, trying not to fly off into something. That door wasn't supposed to open, I thought. It never opened for anyone, but it was open now. Straining my muscles, I tried to reach out to Sora and Kairi.

Unfortunately, Kairi was pushed off her feet and sent flying straight _through_ Sora. I was shocked when her body faded, disappearing with the darkness, but I caught a glimpse of her face before she disappeared past me. There was nothing catch her with. Sora was knocked away, too, and he crashed into me. We were both riding with the merciless current and sent back out of the secret place.

"Sora!" I screamed out my friend's name as we were catapulted into the sky. We were trapped in a cyclone of darkness. Small portions of the islands were right there with us, but they were being drawn back into the massive vortex up above. I tried to reach out to Sora, who was flailing about and spinning. He was eventually able to get some kind of control and extended his arm out for me to grab onto. But, the cyclone was gradually pulling us apart. "I-I can't...!"

"I got you!" Sora shouted, grabbing my hand at the last minute. But, I could feel our hands slipping apart. I didn't want it to happen but part of me knew that we were going to get separated. "No! Don't let go of me! Lu!"

"It's... no use!" I cried, slipping away. The darkness was there to grab hold of me as I drifted apart from Sora. He was being pulled in another direction- up towards the vortex. I wasn't sure what would happen to him or me. The next thing there even was to see was just the darkness. Everything around me disappeared. Fighting it accomplished nothing. I allowed for myself to be taken away... and I blacked out. '_What's going to happen to me?'_

**Don't be afraid. Your journey is just beginning. Come and be with the other lost hearts... Find your way to the world between.**


	10. Episode 2: Traverse Town

**||Episode 2: Traverse Town||**

***A Walk in Andante*...[Traverse Town]**

The gummi ship landed in the middle of a forested area. It was far enough from civilization that the low droning noise would not draw toward them any unwanted attention. To keep it from being discovered by residents of this world, then coming up with a fair disguise was a must. Donald assigned Goofy with the task of concealing their ship with broken shrubs and other objects around the area. Upon finishing the minor bit of work, the duo walked out onto an old path leading to a town. There was some housing outside the stone walls, where some people lived.

Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, and Pluto all passed by the brick buildings and approached the world's main entry. A large, golden sign sat above the large gates, informing them that they had arrived at the right place. _Traverse Town_,_ First District _was what it read. Donald again took the lead, taking his accomplices through the gates into the district. Surprisingly, in spite of it appearing to be so late at night, there were many people out and about. Men, women, children, and families together all around. Some were eating at a casual cafe while others shopped around.

"Um..." Goofy scratched his head as he looked around at the bystanders. There were so many of them, but they were supposed to be looking for one man who might have been among the crowds. "Uh, Donald? Which one of 'em do ya suppose is Leon?"

Shifty-eyed, Donald scanned the numerous faces around them in response to Goofy's inquiry, though he failed to give an immediate verbal answer. There was a note to go along with the King's letter, telling them about what this Leon man looked like. Although, it wasn't as descriptive as Donald was hoping. _He has a scar on his face and wields a big sword_. A lot of guys had scars on their faces, was Donald's thought. Any one of them could also have a big sword, he thought about it again. No picture was provided to give them a better idea about who they were looking for.

"Grr..." Donald grumbled aloud. Stomping in a random direction, he led the way toward a set of stone stairs. "He's not here! Let's go check around the other districts."

"Well, okay," Goofy nodded, following after Donald. They were on their way to the Second District, when Goofy noticed something peculiar happening. A prompting brought him to tilt his head back so that he could see the starry sky above. That was when he saw it, the abnormal blinking of one star in particular. There was a warning from the King that mentioned the signs of a world's demise. This happened to be one of them. Pointing his finger up at the star, Goofy gave a word of caution to Jiminy and Donald. "Look, a star's goin' out!"

"Huh?" Donald paused, somewhat irritated that he was being prevented from moving onto the next place to begin their search. He turned around, noticing his comrade pointing at something in the sky. Curious, he looked up and saw the unique phenomenon. There was a bright flash of light, and then that star was gone. It blinked out just like the King said was happening. "Whoa! Come on, let's hurry. Um... Let's check around here one more time."

And so they did. Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy walked all over with Pluto in search of Leon and the one who had the _key_. But, there was still no sign of either in all of the First District. It was beginning to get on the nerves of Donald Duck, who walked with his arms folded across his chest. He wore a pout as he stomped back toward the stairs going up to the shopping area.

"Where's that key..." Donald grumbled out loud, scanning the area with his eyes. Practically all of the residents were gone now. Maybe an hour or two passed when the busy folks started to leave for their homes. "It's gotta be around here somewhere."

"Maybe we should go ask Leon," Goofy suggested. They were about to go around the right side of the Accessory Shop when Pluto went off in the other direction with his nose sniffing the ground. Goofy noticed the yellow dog wandering away, so he stopped to observe. "Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that..."

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald interrupted him, waving his hand. He walked on in the direction he thought was best, ignoring Goofy after that.

"What do I know?" Goofy thought for a moment, believing Donald to be right. He decided against following Pluto into the alleyway. "C'mon, Pluto!"

***Music End***

**間**

Pluto was onto something. His nose was strong and caught a strange scent during his roaming of the town. He was certain that it was leading him down the right path. The others weren't following him, but Pluto knew he could trust his nose to find them if needed. For now, this mysterious smell drawing him in needed to be investigated. It was so strange that it had suddenly appeared. Pluto had an idea that it might be something of great importance, more than his master's friends might realize at the moment.

The yellow dog's nose bumped into something. A big shoe sitting in the middle of the dark alley, and it was attached to a foot and leg. He sniffed it all over, then looked to see who the shoe belonged to. That scent he caught also originated from the unconscious body Pluto was examining. A boy with brown hair and red shorts. _Sora_.

He was still alive, but it seemed like he was unconscious. Doing the best thing he thought was right, Pluto licked the boy's cheek to try and get him up.

"Mm..." Sora was stirring, much to Pluto's delight. "What a dream..."

Back to sleep he went, but not on Pluto's watch. A pair of large paws slammed into Sora's chest and woke him up immediately. Realization struck at the same time, snapping Sora back into reality. He looked around and gasped for air. His bright blue eyes beheld the strange alley he had been slumped in for however long.

"Waah! This isn't a dream," Sora blurted. He staggered to his feet and rubbed his aching head. "Where am I? Hey, pup, do you know where we are?"

Pluto's ear lifted when he heard his name being called out again. It was Goofy's voice. Of course, before Sora could get anything out of the dog, Pluto ran off for where the others had gone. Sora was left behind in the alley to figure things out for himself. He sighed and walked out to the main part of town. That was where he experienced a great shock.

"This is totally weird..." Sora mumbled. "I'm in another world! I wonder if the others are here."


	11. Episode 2 - Part I

**||Episode 2 - Part I: The Outside World||**

***Where Is This?*...[Traverse Town]**

"Ugh... My head is killing me."

I was sitting on the ground with my back pressed to the brick wall behind me. The constant aching in my head continued to throb for a few more minutes until finally settling down. It took me a little bit to remember what happened, and then it all came back to me as I sat there in a dimly lit alley. All of the terrible things that transpired however long ago. When it did happen, my mind was still hazy in remembering.

There was an awful storm that tore the islands apart... Destiny Islands.

I had doubts about it being just another storm. Or, maybe it was for a while before that strange vortex showed up along with those yellow-eyed monsters. It definitely was no ordinary storm or anything. Riku was taken away from me and Sora by some kind of black mass. _Darkness_, I thought. Kairi disappeared and was probably snatched away by the very same thing. Sora and I... We were separated by it, too. Now I was lost in a place I didn't know. Although these bad things happened, I still held onto hope that my friends were out there somewhere. That was considering the fact that I was here in this strange world.

"None of it was a dream," I mumbled to myself. The memories were too strong and vivid to just be cast aside, and it hurt to pinch my wrist. "So... it's true."

My eyes rose to stare at the night sky. This place I was currently in was the outside world my friends and I were trying to reach with the raft. The stars were just like the ones back home on the islands, but the view was far more clearer than there. And the layout was a lot different, too. I noticed that there was a lot of brickwork even in this alley. A shallow pool of water connected to drainage pipes poured through spaced out metal bars into some kind of waterway. And, by the looks of the signs hanging over the pathway, this was the back end of a hotel.

"Traverse Town...?" I read aloud the words on one of the big banners hanging from a long rope. Getting up to my feet, I stepped out into the middle of the alley and examined it. There were others that appeared very inviting, either giving a welcome to the town or invitation to stay at the hotel. I checked my pockets for what munny there was in them. "Aw, not good. This won't be enough to book a room for more than a night, probably."

Worst case scenario, it meant that I would have to somehow get a job here in town. Even worse... I wouldn't be able to get a new set of clothes for a while even if I managed to pay for the hotel room. There wasn't a whole lot I could do with just 200 munny.

_I-I think I'll just do a little bit of shopping for now. Just some clothes to get into_. There weren't any places I could go in that dark alley, so I took my search for a clothing store through a set of doors leading to another part of town.

It was to my luck that there were a good number of shops to check out. This place I went to was apparently the Second District. Seemed like I hit the jackpot, too, because there were a lot of stores to go around. A variety of handbags and other kinds of bags, fancy clothes and more, and one that sold different kinds of footwear. I was amazed by the simple but wide selection I had to choose from. The front end of the hotel was behind me on the second level. So, this was where it all was at. Interesting.

"Wow, these are so affordable!" I grinned to myself after looking at the clothing prices in the window. Nothing seemed to go over 100 munny, which made me one lucky girl. Thankfully the shop was open, so I could freely go inside and pick something out. I wasn't sure what time it was right now, so there was no telling when they were going to close. Hurrying inside, I went to find myself a new pair of clothes to wear. "Now, what can I get in here?"

There were several aisles filled with nice clothes in the store, and I walked down every one to see what I could afford. Eventually, I came around to the section of clothes that was just my size- shirts, pants, and so on. Down the row, I noticed that there was a small selection of shoes that I could pick from. Unfortunately, the really nice outfits costed too much altogether.

I went ahead and picked out a black T-shirt, jean shorts, and a pair of cheap sneakers to start out with. Once I got everything, I carried what I found back to the cashier's register to make my purchase. Seeing that there wasn't anyone there immediately, I rang the small bell sitting on the counter. Maybe they were in the back taking care of some things or something.

"Oh, a customer?" asked a man coming out from behind a curtain spoke up after a few minutes. It was relieving to know that I wasn't the only one there. Even though the sign outside said the place was open, I could see that I was the only one shopping around at this time. This man who stepped out was middle-aged, maybe older. His hairs were graying, and he had a bushy beard. With the round glasses he wore, he looked like an awfully nice person. "Well, now, this is quite the surprise. What can I help you with, little miss?"

"Uh, I-I'd just like to buy these for now," I told him, pointing at the small pile of clothes on the counter. The clerk was pretty quick with adding up the total cost for the clothing. It was a bit much, but everything turned out to be 150 munny. That meant that I still had enough munny to spare to grab something to eat. "Thanks."

"Not a problem, little miss," the old clerk nodded with a smile. "Say, you aren't planning on staying out in this district for too long, are ya?"

"I do. Is that a problem?" I wondered, taking my bag of items.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but it's a little too dangerous for a young one such as yourself to be out wanderin'," he told me, coming around the counter to look out the window. From where I stood, I had a pretty clear view of the outside. It looked empty out there. No people busying themselves or anything. The man then pointed at the hotel across the way. "If I were you, I'd stay the rest of the night at the hotel. Or, if you can, stay in the First District. Those are the safest places around town. Some mighty nasty critters are lurking out there. Got some folks locking themselves indoors. Maybe you ought to do the same."

_Nasty critters?_ I tapped my chin, trying to figure out what he meant by that. Either that meant that there were some rabid animals out there somewhere, or maybe he was talking about _those things_. Whatever it was, I was sure that I could handle it. It wasn't like I was an unarmed child in danger of anything crawling in the dark.

"Thank you," I said to the shopkeeper and prepared to head out on my way. "I'll keep that in mind, but I should be okay."

"Not scared, are ya?" he smirked. "Know what? Take this and get yourself a room at the hotel. Least I could do for someone keeping me in business."

I wasn't expecting such a kind gesture, but the old man handed me a small pouch of munny. He told me that there would be enough to book a room for a night. That was all I really needed for the time being, at least until I figured something out with finding a way to get some more munny. Thanking him again for the generous offer, I left the shop and quickly made my way to the hotel.

On my way there, a chilly wind blew through the district. A strange feeling throbbed in my heart as I walked up to the doors. It felt like something was coming. Not the good kind of something. At the same time, I wasn't sure if it was all that bad, either. Maybe it was just part of my imagination, but I hoped that everything would be okay.

The thought was shifted to the back burner in my mind as I stepped inside the hotel's lobby area. A lady was standing behind the counter with a small book in her hand. She looked a little bored judging by her facial expression. For some reason, it seemed like a bad idea to bother her right now.

"E-Excuse me..." I stepped over to the counter. "I'd like to rent a room."

"Hm?" She looked up from her book at me, never changing the aloof look on her face. Nervously, I tried to smile and push the pouch of munny toward her. The woman silently opened the pouch and counted how much there was inside. "Got enough for a night and a half. Only room available is the door at the end of the hall."

_A night and a half? Well, I guess that works a little better for me, then._ I politely thanked her and roamed the hotel until I got to my hotel room. It was a quaint place, warm and cozy. The blue room was exactly what the name implied.

Light and dark accents of blues decorated the room. The pictures on the wall featured images from unknown locations. One was a vast ocean and a couple of others looked like different parts of some islands. I sighed and took in the nostalgia. It was perfect for someone who lived on an island in the middle of the great blue ocean. If only the others were here. They'd get a kick out of this.

Tossing my stuff onto the soft mattress of the bed, I dug into my latest find from shopping. I set the new clothes off to the side and decided to jump in the shower to clean up. My skin felt so dirty from waking up in the alley. Worst of all, there was a faint stench coming up. That was enough of a sign to get me in the bathroom. I took my time in getting into my new outfit. As soon as I was done, I could start looking around town for clues of my friends' whereabouts.

***Music End***

**間**

_Traverse Town. _

_Since the chosen one disappeared from the island, it was determined that the source of power went away to **that** world. The world where all refugees of destroyed worlds went to find solace. There, **he** would meet the chosen one who had a heart balanced in both light and darkness._

_That heart was a special one that he could not afford to lose sight of. Someone needed to guide it in the right direction..._


	12. Episode 2 - Part II

**||Episode 2 - Part II: A Man Named Ansem||**

Half past noon, I had already finished getting ready and eating some lunch down at the lobby. It was surprising to me that it was still fairly early in the day. I was so sure that it'd be night time right about now, but it seemed that I was wrong about that. No matter. All that it meant was that there was today and tomorrow to figure things out in this town. The last half of the following day... I had no idea what I could do with that much time.

I'd probably have enough munny by then to extend my stay if needed. But, other than that, I had a day and a half. It'd take me that long to find out if my friends were also here. We'd be able to find a way to get the islands back together and then return home. That was my hope, anyway. I had doubts that my plan would actually turn out like that. Most likely, it was a slim to none chance that any of them actually ended up in the same place as me. Just... I hoped that someone did.

"Well, I guess I'd better go out looking for them," I sighed, tying my shoelaces. Although I wanted to make a thorough plan on what to do for getting situated in this world and finding my friends, there just wasn't much I could come up with on my own. The best I could really come up with right now was simply going out to look for them throughout the town. If I did, then maybe my luck would bring in some good for me and I'd find them along with some spare change. But, that might have been me being too hopeful.

Things were bound to turn out differently once I actually got out there. Plus, it was apparently very dangerous in this district according to that one guy working at the clothing store. _I can fight, though. If those shadow things come up again, then I'll just have to beat them_. "Sora. Riku. Kairi. I'm on my way."

Outside in the Second District, I saw that it was just as empty as it was earlier this morning. There were no people, and even all of the shops were closed. I was a little surprised that everything was closed up right now. Usually, stores went on until the dead of night. Not that it really mattered. I didn't have to do any major shopping at the moment. Instead, I just looked around the district for signs of my friends. Some kind of clues had to be laying around someplace.

_What's down here?_ I wondered as I followed a path leading to another alley. It was dimly lit compared to the rest of the district. All of the doors to the homes lined up along the alley were also boarded up as though the people living in them had no interest in stepping outside. Or, maybe they were trying to keep something from getting in there with them. I found it strange and terribly suspicious.

An uneasy feeling was bubbling up in the pit of my stomach. It was both familiar and unsettling. Something about this town was off compared to the time I arrived, and that had to be just a few hours ago. For it to change that fast, something had to be up. _This feeling... It's like someone is watching me. I'm not alone here. _

_"So, this is where you have been." _

The chill rapidly trailing down my spine was strong, freezing me in place for a moment. I heard a hissing voice somewhere in the alley. It was a voice that hissed in the wind, but there was something oddly familiar about the way it did. Instinct told me to turn around, so I did just that as though this mysterious presence was indeed right behind me. My nerves trembled madly for a brief moment when I saw exactly what I was hoping not to see. That someone or something I thought was watching me was standing a few meters away, their appearance obscured by brown robes.

"You... I remember you," I mumbled to myself, recalling the last time I saw that strange person. It was back at the secret place on the islands, where I found a bunch of mushrooms. "How did you get here?"

"Back then, I had the desire to see the door to the world you called home." His words were calm and thoughtfully put. What he said actually rung a bell in my head. Back then, he did say something about that door my friends and I once found at the secret tunnel's end. I thought he was crazy for what he said at the time, but I also remembered when that very same door was thrust open the night of the storm. "What lied beyond that door piqued my interest. However, that world no longer exists on part of the imbecilic darkness that invaded it."

"You're talking about those monsters that attacked me and my friends," I said, making the hooded man chuckle out loud. "W-What's so funny? Our world was torn apart because of those things. I don't see how that can be funny."

"My apologies..." he said lowly, almost in a whisper. This was the second time the mysterious stranger apologized to me over something. It prompted me to soften my stance toward him, but it was only slight. "It is a scenario that brings much sorrow to your heart. I can sense it. Nonetheless, you must keep your heart strong. If not, then what more could you possibly do as the Keyblade's master."

"Well... I'll figure out how to get the islands back somehow, so no matter," I said, shaking my head back and forth. With the tension in my body starting to lighten up some more, the more I talked with him, I straightened my composure and managed a small smile. I was sure that the thought of returning to Destiny Islands with my friends was what enlightened me. Although, it sounded like a long shot. My heart continued to tell me that it would be possible at some point. I just had to aim for it to happen. "Anyway, there must be some reason why we're meeting again. Did you come all this way to find me? And what's all this about me being the Keyblade's master? I don't really understand what you mean."

"Yes," he answered slowly. But, before he went on, the hooded man turned away and shuffled over toward the Second District's courtyard. "Let us speak of this elsewhere. Let us go to the top of that shop and talk more there."

I was led to the top of the white building at the far end of the district. A sign named it as the "Gizmo Shop", and it didn't look particularly busy. Once we were inside, there was a staircase through a door leading to the upper floors. Eventually, we came to the rooftop that overlooked the town's shopping district. It was an interesting spot to have a conversation with someone. I hopped up onto a crate sitting near a blocked off part of the shop. Through the cracks of the wood, it looked like there was a giant bell behind the wall. As for the hooded man, he remained standing a short distance away from me.

_What is he going to tell me?_ I wondered. He was silent for a moment longer, making me feel a little bit awkward just sitting there.

"In truth, I do find you to be a person of interest, someone with a heart strong enough to withstand the darkness." The man was very blunt with his wording, but I wasn't too unnerved listening to what he had to say. Actually, it was a little flattering to me. "For that reason have I come in search of you, girl. I know it was no mere chance for the Keyblade to have chosen the likes of you. Perhaps it was your blood that was the deciding factor. I haven't a clear idea yet as to why that may be the case. The answer must be hiding somewhere in one of these countless worlds."

"O-Okay," I nodded slowly. "But, I can't just go to other worlds only to figure that part out. I have to find my friends. They're out there somewhere. Lost. You know, like me. We were split up when that storm came, but I know that all of them are alive. Once I find them, then I can figure out why I have the Keyblade."

"Ah, yes," he hummed. "Well, there is plenty of time to learn the truth about you. If you wish to find your friends, then go and do so. Try and get to them before the Heartless do, if you wish to return home with them. They might even be somewhere in this town. But, it will not be much longer before the untamed Heartless wreak havoc on this world. Can you feel the looming darkness?"

_My friends? Here in Traverse Town?_ I gasped in response to his claim. If that were true, then I had to go out and search for them right away. Riku, Sora, and Kairi. One or all, it didn't matter all that much. If I could find one, then it was possible to find the rest. _I have to make sure I get to them before the darkness does._

**間**

_Sora was lost but not afraid. This new world was something to really admire, especially with it being his first time. He wandered all around the First District, looking for anyone to help him figure out the layout of the town. At the same time, he was eager to find out where his friends were and wanted to find them on his own._

_There was still no sign of them as he looked all over the place. Beyond those large gates at the top of the stairs– there had to be something interesting on the other side. Second District. Sora gulped and hesitantly walked through them to investigate. At the same time, he was worried about what he might run into if he went through the gates. Everyone he talked to in the First District tried to steer him away from ever going through these gates._

_Immediately, there was trouble. Some man was running away from a threat Sora could not see. He fell to the ground all of a sudden, and shifted around to see the young boy standing there. His face was full of fright and pain. The injuries Sora could see on him looked terrible and painful. Sora tried to approach him to see if there was anything he could do to help, but the man yelled in agony as a light burst from his chest. _

_Sora watched with fright as a heart drifted away into the shadows, leaving the body of that poor man. And, in an instant, the heart was sucked into a black mass. Black webbing stuck around the heart, ensnaring it in darkness. That very darkness transformed into something else. It became a creature with red claws wearing a silver helmet. The eyes it scanned around with were glowing yellow._

_The monster vanished at some point after appearing, and the body of the man who fell faded away into nothing. Sora was distraught at what he had just seen, but he could not take a moment to process what happened. Monsters appeared around him now. These creatures were awfully familiar._

_"Ah!" Sora gasped as his silver-bladed sword appeared in his hands. "It's those creatures from the island!"_

**間**

***Strange Whispers***

The hooded man took me out into the night of Traverse Town, back at the Second District. I was horrified to see the place crawling with those black monsters he told me were called Heartless. It looked like they were hunting for their next prey. They'd probably come after me if I stepped out of this alley. Rather than taking that daring step, I remained behind the man until he said it was okay to go out.

"Behold." He pointed out toward one of the shops, where someone was coming out from the safety of the building. My eyes widened when I realized it was the shopkeeper who sold me my clothes. What was he doing coming out when it wasn't safe? If he didn't go back in, then the Heartless would take him. "All hearts possess light in them, and all have at least a small amount of darkness. The Heartless aim to devour the light and bring out the darkness."

"Aah!"

I gasped at the sound of his screaming. The older man was confronted by a group of the Heartless, and they boldly attacked him. He was lucky to have avoided major harm, but I could see that the evil creatures landed a few scratches on him.

Get away, was what I wanted to shout. However, there was nothing I could do from here. The Heartless swarmed around him and gave the man no chance of escape. That was what I thought, though. The shop owner managed to find a way out by squirming through the dog pile of Heartless, and he ran away.

"Thank goodness, he got away…" I breathed a sigh of relief. "I-I should've gone over there to help him."

"You are not yet strong enough to thwart the efforts of those Heartless on your own." I was told. "Too many of them run wild and untamed."

The hooded man made a gesture to the upper level of the district. I was looking in the direction that the old man had run into. At first, I saw nothing but a pink light floating along. It turned out to be something else, at a closer glance. A crystalline heart that had a bright glow.

"What is that?" I asked, admiring the beautiful object. "It's…"

"Beautiful, indeed." The hooded man nodded, but his tone was less than kindly. "That, you see, is the heart of that dear old man you met hours ago. It appears that he was no match for the darkness."

"It disappeared into the darkness!" I gasped, witnessing a net of darkness wrapping around the heart. It swirled until becoming a creature unlike those Shadows. This one had a strange emblem on its chest, red claws, and a silver helmet. "Is that a Heartless?"

"Yes." He answered me calmly. "What you see here is an Emblem Heartless. It happens to all those who are consumed– transformation into Heartless. A cruel fate for those who never asked for it."

I was saddened deeply by all that I had seen. The kind old man who I met today was gone and turned into one of those evil creatures. Before I could dwell on it anymore, the hooded man took me away from the dangerous area and to the Third District. We were returning to the abandoned home for some rest. I was glad to be able to have a place to get some decent sleep after having to deal with so many of those Heartless.

This stranger was dark and suspicious, ever since I met him back on the islands. But, now, I'm glad to have someone with me. I had my doubts about him, and I got some weird vibes around him. He has helped me out through this, as of yet, though. I can at least get to know him before I start judging him.

"What's your name?" I asked the hooded man, finally. This house was dark with there being no light except from the burning candles. It was hard to see where he was, but that creepy silhouette could be made out by the window. "I… I never got it before."

"Many know of my name but the past is still misunderstood regarding who I am," he said to me. "I am Ansem."

"Ansem?" I repeated thoughtfully. There was something about the name that rang familiar, but I couldn't exactly say why that was. Nonetheless, I was grateful for the insight he gave me. "Well, Ansem. Thank you for helping me back there."

"It is merely my pleasure in doing so. The Keyblade's heir and chosen one cannot be allowed to fall so soon." Ansem's voice grew quiet. The shuffling of his robes told me that he was moving. I barely noticed that he was moving closer to me. "Though you may not understand your importance just yet, you will grow acquainted with your destiny as you travel the worlds."

"I..." My voice fell before I could mutter anything else. Suddenly, it felt like everything made no sense at all. I tried hard to recount everything he told me, but nothing was straightening out in my head. All of it was giving me a nagging headache. "Heartless, Keyblade, destiny. I can't wrap my head around it all!"

"Hm." Ansem hummed softly, locking his gaze with mine a moment later. He was thinking something; I could tell that there was something he wanted to say to me. I just didn't know what. "Piece by piece."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"You will be guided to your destined path, piece by piece," he said. Ansem paused and looked up at the night sky, then he scanned over the district. _Is something coming?_ I wondered, quietly following his wandering gaze. "It seems we have very little time to discuss it. They draw near."

"Don't tell me you're talking about those Heartless things..." I groaned, searching about to try and spot any more of them. Those creatures were obviously a threat to people's lives and mine. If more of them really were coming and because I am still in this town, then there had to be something I could do about it. Although, I dreaded the idea of confronting a ton of Heartless by myself. "Those Heartless... What exactly are they? Can I do anything about them?"

"In short, they are denizens of pure darkness who mindlessly seek the hearts of men. Even you are a target, for the Keyblade lures them to you," Ansem answered promptly. "For now, if you wish to save this town, you must fight with all your might. Use the Keyblade and let your heart reign strong against them."

"R-Right," I nodded. Turning around to head for the way back down, I began walking off to see what I could do to prepare myself for what was to come. Then, something abruptly stopped me in my tracks and jolted me back around to face Ansem. "Hey! Have you seen any of my friends at all? I do want to help this place, but I also really need to find them."

"Ah, those other children from that tiny island," Ansem recalled. "I have seen that one boy again... He is in this town as well. Go find him, if you wish."

"So you have!" I grinned. Whether he was referring to Sora or Riku didn't matter all that much to me. He knew of them, probably, and it seemed like he had an idea about where one of them was. I was excited to be able to find someone at last. _Ansem... I might've misjudged you in the beginning_. "Thank you, Ansem. Will we meet again? You know a lot, a-and I'd like to talk to you more about all of this."

"In due time, our paths will cross again," he said to me. "Go, there is much to seek before then."

***Music End***


	13. Episode 2 - Part III

**||Episode 2 - Part III: The Heartless Have Come||**

***Night of Fate***

"Hah!" Sora yelled as he struck down another of the menacing shadows chasing after him. Although he wanted to run back to see if that man was gone for sure, he recognized that there was nothing he could do right now with so many of them trying to take him, too. _Did I leave the gate open?_ Sora wondered as he finished off the last of them. But, there was no time to worry about it, he had to find his friends before any of those monsters got to them.

Traverse Town was a bigger world than he ever expected, so there had to be plenty of places he needed to check in order to find ideas about where they might be. One thing was certain in his mind, none of the people in the First District had any clue about his friends.

"A hotel?" Sora stopped for a moment outside the double doors of a large building. The lights were on inside, which meant that it was an open business. Maybe he could find something inside there, Sora thought. Well, it would be worth a shot regardless of what he did discover. Sora pushed through the doors to begin looking inside.

**...**

_"Gwarsh, Donald, doesn't look like he's here," Goofy scanned the area with the hope of finding Leon, but he had no luck._

_"Keep looking!" Donald quacked. The royal magician folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently while Goofy searched a portion of the district. Eventually, they had enough of looking out there. Donald and Goofy scoured the alleys of the Second District until noticing a nice looking hotel nearby. It was considered, but they spent a little more time on the lower levels to find the man they were searching for._

**...**

The hall was very long and a number of doors were lined up along the sides. A staircase at the end of the hall was there to go up to the upper floors, but he wouldn't be able to go unless he got a room. Instead, Sora approached the lady standing at the front desk. She was deeply investing her time in a book from one of the shelves and failed to notice him standing there. Once or twice, he tried getting her attention by asking if she saw anyone with physical descriptions matching his friends. No answer to that.

"Hm..." Sora pursed his lips. A bell sitting on the counter caught his attention. Shifting his eyes from her to it, then back to her, Sora dinged it a few times in an effort to talk to her. "Excuse me, miss?"

"No vacancy..." she said, not taking her eyes of the book.

_Guess I'll have to try somewhere else..._ Sora sighed, leaving the lobby. He wandered down to a pair of doors leading to a dark alley. Maybe there were some traces there.

**...**

_"Leeeon!" Donald called out at the top of his lungs upon exiting the hotel. "Mister Leon?!"_

_"Where are you?" Goofy tried yelling, too, but no luck. The two of them opted to search elsewhere while they still had the energy._

**...**

"More of those things down this way, too," Sora mumbled, fighting off as many of the hostile shadows as he could before running off through a conveniently unlocked door. He found himself walking through a large home with many doors. In a way, he felt bad for barging into someone's home unannounced, but he did have little choice in the matter. He hurried through the living room, kitchen, and dining area until reaching the last door of the house. "Huh? Only a couple of dogs here."

"Woof..."

One of them huffed loudly. It was a pair of Dalmatians sitting together, but they looked so sad. Sora watched them curiously but noticed a note sitting by the window. _What's this?_ He wondered, investigating the note. It was written very neatly by whoever owned the home.

He realized plain and clear what the big problem was. A total of 99 Dalmatian puppies were lost when the people of this home came to Traverse Town. They were probably scattered during their travels.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Sora knelt down beside the dogs. They were wearing collars and had names. _Pongo_ and _Perdita_. "I'm sure your puppies are safe and sound. They'll be back. Look, I've gotta go. I've gotta go and find my friends."

Sora left the saddened dogs and went back out into the Second District. There was only one place left that he could check out. It was the large, white building connected to the Dalmatian's home. Quickly going inside, Sora eagerly began searching much of the shop for his friends.

**...**

_Donald and Goofy were walking along by themselves. There was still no luck in their search for Leon. He was hidden somewhere around the town, but they found no signs. He could have been anywhere, but he managed to evade them at every turn. It was as if the King had sent them on a wild goose chase._

_"Hmph." Donald grumbled, stopping to look around the district again. "Where is he?"_

_"Leeeooon!" Goofy shouted._

_Wandering all over the place, they finally turned over every rock in the Second District. It was a bust, but they were determined to find Leon._

_"He's not here, either," Donald folded his arms. "Grr..."_

_"This could take a while..." Goofy sighed, shaking his head._

**...**

It was the Gizmo Shop he explored partly. Sora was intrigued by all of the spinning gears decorated around the place, but there were very few things functioning at the time of his arrival. Waves and waves of the Heartless came to haunt Sora, but he used what strength he could to overcome them.

Unfortunately, his search was cut short when too many of the shadow monsters pursued him. This area was becoming too dangerous for him now, so he retreated back to the gates. Tons of shadows swarmed behind him, but he made it through right on time. However, once Sora got to the other side, there was a big surprise waiting for him in the First District.

An unthinkable number of Heartless occupied almost every inch of the town. And, already, a group of them caught onto his presence. They attacked and forced the Keyblade wielder to run away through the district until he got to the Accessory Shop.

"Whoa, you look like yer in some trouble," the shopkeeper pointed out, watching Sora slam the door shut. "Them critters out there are causin' all sorts of problems."

"Y... Yeah," Sora panted, agreeing with Cid. "I tried to find my friends, but no luck."

"That so?" Cid raised a brow. "Well, don't get bummed just cause you ain't found them. I'm sure they're looking hard for you. Don't give up."


	14. Episode 2 - Part IV

**||Episode 2 - Part IV: A Dark Cloud Over Town||**

***Night of Fate***

Much to my dismay, there were Heartless pouring into the town from all over. I had no idea where they came from, but they were snatching residents of the town from left and right. So it was true that they were coming to invade this town.

The Heartless chasing after me provided a grim reminder of all that happened at the islands. But, the difference now was that I knew they were after my heart. Losing it would probably mean becoming one of them, just like what I saw earlier with the man who owned the clothing store.

"No, there's too many for me to fight on my own..." I grimaced as dozens of Heartless surrounded me at the gates leading back to the Second District. Dozens more were rising from the ground as I stood there. It turned out to be a bad idea coming as far as the Third District, but I didn't realize they would be here so soon. Already, I took out a good portion of them, but more kept replacing those that were defeated. It was endless! Gotta get someplace safe.

Taking in a deep breath, I slipped through the gates and slammed them behind me to try and prevent the Heartless from following me. They were trying to break through, but I held them back for as long as I could. Not that my strength would last against the lot of them. I could feel all of the Heartless pushing back against me.

_Sora... Riku... Kairi..._

I gritted my teeth as I struggled to hold back the doors. The hotel wasn't too far from this point. Through the alleyway to the next door would cross me over to the courtyard, then the hotel would be right there. It was the safest place I could think of going to for now.

No doubt, the Heartless might try and get through to me there. I had to try and escape regardless of that fact. Taking in a deep breath, I pushed off the gate doors and made a mad dash to the hotel, where I was sure I could safely stay for a time.

_Riku, I hope I find you first. Where are you?!_

**間**

_"They'll come at you out of nowhere."_

_Sora whipped around, spotting a man leaning against a light pole. They were in the First District's courtyard, just outside the Accessory Shop where Cid was working. He was a tall man who looked very intimidating with that cold gaze of his. Nervously brandishing his Keyblade, Sora faced him with a glare and stood his ground._

_"Who are you?" he asked, swallowing a thick glob stuck in his throat._

_"And they'll keep coming after you as long as you continue to wield that Keyblade." The man stood up straight and continued speaking as if Sora had said nothing. His dark blue eyes trailed over the silver and gold Keyblade in the boy's hands, referencing what he spoke of. Suddenly, the stranger sighed and shook his head. Light briefly traced over his face, giving Sora a good look at his facial features. Most amazing was the long scar running diagonally over his nose. "But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?"_

_"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Sora growled in annoyance. "Who are you anyway?!"_

_"Never mind it," the man responded curtly. Sora didn't notice it before, but there was a silver sword in the man's other hand. With his free one, as he walked toward the boy, he reached out for the Keyblade. "Now, let's see that key."_

_"What?" Sora gritted his teeth and jumped away to keep him from taking it. "There's no way you're getting this! I need it to find my friends!"_

_"Alright, then have it your way..." He frowned and gripped his large sword tightly. Sora knew he was in for a fight, but he was willing to put up with it if he had to._

**間**

I sat on the bed in my hotel room with a damp cloth draped around my neck. My escape from the Heartless was narrow, but I managed to get away and retreat to my room. _There was no sign of them when I went out to look today_, I thought to myself about my friends. Now it was too dangerous to wander around outside, unless I wanted to fight for my life the whole time. Although, I had to admit that the Heartless were good practice for me in wielding the Keyblade.

Swinging around the Keyblade was getting easier and easier with each confrontation I had against the Heartless. Those shadows could hardly take a single hit from it. Even that much was enough to surprise me, but it was a good surprise. They wanted it, most likely, but taking it from me was a risky effort for them. The only problem was... I wasn't sure if I could handle huge swarms on my own. No, my strength was not enough for something as daring as that. I had no chance without someone else who could fight. That was why I needed to find Sora or Riku, whichever one of them was here.

"You did well to return unscathed." I popped my head up when Ansem suddenly appeared. Of course he was standing in the shadowy part of the room, but I was quicker at spotting him this time. At least he didn't startle me as bad, unlike the past two times we met. _He's gotta have some kind of teleportation powers,_ I thought for sure. There was no other way to explain him getting in this room when the doors were locked tight. "How was your search?"

"Not so good," I said quietly, leaning back against the bed frame. "I couldn't find anyone... except those Heartless. They're everywhere."

"Yes, and they are adamant in taking this world," Ansem said. Closing my eyes, I thought of that horrific scenario. I found out that these people came here to escape the Heartless, but now they were in the same kind of danger that they were trying to get away from. "The Heartless will eventually track you here. Rest while you can."

As good as rest sounded, I thought for sure that I had enough of it. How could I rest now knowing that this town and I were in danger? Whichever way I looked at the situation, I continued to see myself running out there into danger and fighting. That was all there was to it, really. Knowing Sora and Riku, they'd be the first to run into danger if they had a fighting chance. I did learn that from them...

Sooner or later, the Heartless would find me. I was prepared to face that truth, and I was ready to fight for my life if it meant finding my friends. _They would do the same for me, right?_ I thought to myself about Sora, Riku, and Kairi. _Then, I better do everything in my power to help them._

My mind flickered back to the Keyblade at that moment, when I built up the resolve to fight. It first came to me when I was about to be snatched away by the darkness. A voice whispered to me. No, there had to be two different voices, I thought. One urging me to follow Riku into the darkness, and the other insisted that I _release_ my power and fight the darkness. I had to assume that this power it was referring to was this Keyblade.

_Starlight_, I said its name in my head. That was the name that came to me the moment I received this peculiar sword, and it stuck ever since. With the experience I got from fighting the Heartless and with what Ansem told me to do when confronting the Heartless in this world, I knew that the Keyblade would help me through this huge obstacle. It was a matter of willingness, wasn't it? _Yeah... I can do this. I know I can with Starlight. _

"Ansem." I spoke, calling out to the hooded man in a soft-toned voice. He was still there with me as my attention remained fixated on the Keyblade. So many things that I wanted to ask him, but the lack of time prevented me from doing so. I could feel the darkness approaching. "What can I do to stop the Heartless in this town?"

"...Somewhere, there is a leading force," he said after a short moment of silence. "Defeat it, and the Heartless attack will be thwarted."

"So, it's like they have a boss," I realized, looking up from my Keyblade. Because the Heartless numbers were so high all around Traverse Town, I didn't doubt that it meant their leader was someplace nearby. "Alright, then I'm going to go out and find it-"

_Crash!_

Coming from the hotel room next door to mine, I could hear loud shouts and the sound of shattering glass. I jumped off the bed and held Starlight tightly in my left hand, ready to face what I knew was on the other side of the door connecting my room to the other. _This feeling in my chest..._ I gulped. It throbbed and pounded loudly. _The Heartless have finally come. _

"Let us meet again another time," Ansem said to me before disappearing.

I nodded and barged through the door with the expectation that there were tons of Heartless attacking unsuspecting people. But, when I got through, I noticed that no one was there. Broken glass was spilled out on the carpet. It came from the window looking out at the balcony and alley where I woke up.

_"Don't bother with the small fry! Find the leader!"_

_Someone's outside?_ I gasped, hearing a man down in the alley. Quickly running to the balcony, I peered down below to see many Heartless getting tossed aside. There was a person knocking them down with a giant key. My eyes widened in surprise as I watched the skilled fighter defeat the Heartless in his way. He had spiky brown hair and red shorts. Big yellow shoes that were a size too large for his feet. He was running passed a majority of the enemies, so they weren't entirely what he was concerned with. That boy down there was going after the Heartless boss!

"Sora!" I shouted, but he didn't hear me. Sora was too far now and heading to the Second District. "I've gotta catch up to him..."

I jumped down from the balcony to land on the brick ground below, taking out two Heartless attempting to go after Sora. If he was going straight after their leader, then I had to do so as well. He'd have a hard time if he was fighting all alone. Apart from that, I couldn't leave one of my best friends to fend for himself.


	15. Episode 2 - Part V

**||Episode 2 - Part V: Lost, All Alone||**

***Where is This?*...[Hollow Bastion]**

His entire body was aching when he opened his eyes. Pulling his fingers close to his palm, Riku groaned and got up to his feet. _Whoa..._ He gasped, catching himself before he could fall back to the ground. Riku shook his head and breathed carefully. Though his legs were recovering from weakness, he could still stand on his own two feet without support.

Riku put aside his pain and glanced around with worried eyes. He was in a canyon of some sort, surrounded by a lot of water. It was strange to see the water rising upward instead of falling like the typical waterfall. Large bubbles floating in the air above the water. Neither of the phenomenons made any sense to him, but Riku had no particular interest in the science behind them.

"Where... am I?" The silver-haired boy muttered to himself, and he looked down at his clenched fists. "Where..."

Eyes wide with realization, Riku turned himself all around to look for the others. They were nowhere to be seen. He last saw Sora and Lu back at the island, but now they were no longer by his side. That was unless they might have ended up somewhere else in this world.

"Sora! Kairi!" Riku shouted loudly. His voice echoed through the canyon, bouncing off the walls of water until they were dimmed by the roaring water. He waited a moment for them to answer, but it was no good. Not even bothering to call for Lu, Riku dropped his head in terrible disappointment. _They're not here... I'm all alone._ He reminded himself. "Did I... make a mistake? Her hand. If only I grabbed her hand before..."

The boy sighed and looked down at his hand as he thought about Lu, who he almost got to go with him through the darkness. What happened? He could have sworn that he had her right behind him, but then he found that she was missing. If only he grabbed her hand when he had the chance. She would be in this strange world with him, then he wouldn't have to be all alone. Sora and Kairi were likely in a similar situation. At some point, he would have to find a way off this world to find them, too.

"Well, well, well." A woman frowned to herself as she stepped out from her domain. There was a light falling from the sky not too long ago, and it landed somewhere outside the castle walls. She wandered out until she was at the peak of the rising falls. From that point, she could see to the bottom. "My, now isn't this interesting."

A lone child standing there amidst the falls. What a depressing air that she could feel from where she stood. Such a darkness she found to be... tasty.

"Not the typical trespasser, I suppose," she said to herself. "Perhaps he can be of some use to me."

***Music End***


	16. Episode 2 - Part VI

**||Episode 2 - Part VI: Friends Helping Friends in Need||**

"Sora!"

I called every time I could when Sora came into view, but there was always something keeping me from reaching him. Either his attention was still so fixated on what he was doing that he couldn't hear me at all, or it was the dozens of Heartless jumping in my path. My assumption was that both problems were the case. The latter seemed to be far more prevalent, though.

He was headed for the Third District. Since that was where my friend was headed, then I was going that way, too. I cut through the Heartless ahead of me and pursued Sora to the next area. The Heartless were close behind me, but I quickly retreated behind the large gates to the district. They were cut off my trail, allowing me to go on ahead without any trouble. I ran up to the stone railing and peered down at the place. _Finally, I caught up to him!_

With all the running, I was out of breath by the time I got there, but I felt rewarded upon seeing Sora running down to the center of the district. He was the one Ansem was referring to. My friend who was also in this town happened to be Sora. It was something that I was very happy to know, but at the same time... I frowned deeply realizing that Riku and Kairi were nowhere to be seen. The darkness might have taken them somewhere far away. It would be a while longer before we could all be together again, I feared. However, I couldn't lose heart now when one of my friends was practically right in front of me.

"Sora!" Breathing in, I let out a great shout to Sora, whose ears finally heard my voice. He stopped in his running and turned his head wildly around. At the same time, all of a sudden, there was an explosion of fire from a nearby building. I yelped, feeling the brief trembling of earth due to its power. "Ah!"

There were screams from up above, prompting me to search the sky. To my surprise, there was an unusual pair falling from several feet, and they were about to collide with Sora. It was too late for him to get out of the way. I winced when they crashed, but the three of them looked like they would be okay from what I could see. Seeing stars, maybe, but there didn't seem to be any other problems. Well, on the plus side, it stopped Sora from getting away from me. I took it as my chance to finally get to his side now that he was stuck under two bodies.

"Ow, my aching head..." said the feathery man. I ran up to them, stopping only to inspect the seriousness of their injuries. _Wait a second... That's a talking duck! A talking duck wearing clothes?_ I stood by and stared at the two strangers with wide eyes. And the other one had the face of a dog, but he was also wearing human clothes. Traverse Town had its share of interesting people, but these were the strangest ones that I ever did see. What were they even? "Goofy, look!"

"Huh?" The one named Goofy shook his head and sat up. "Would ya look at that!"

"It's the key!" they exclaimed at the same time, snapping Sora out of his daze.

"What in the..." Sora groaned and freed his arm from the pile so that he could rub his head. He crawled out from under them and got up to his feet. "I don't know what happened... but that was crazy. Where was that voice coming from?"

I sighed and pursed my lips when Sora started looking around everywhere, except for right next to him. That was the typical Sora. He had his moments of being so great, until the tunnel vision kicked in. It was tempting to scare him when he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. I wasn't patient enough to let him be clueless, though. Now wasn't the time for any of that.

"Hey." I opened my mouth and folded my arms across my chest. "Turn around!"

"Huh?!" Sora jumped, jolting around to face me. "Lu!"

"Took you forever to notice!" I huffed at him. Yet, in spite of the annoyance I felt toward Sora, I worked up a smile and gave him a friendly wink. "I was worried that you'd never stop running. Well, anyway, I'm glad I found you."

"I can't believe it," Sora grinned. Our reunion was put on hold, however, when the ground started to shake violently. Towering pillars rose from the ground, blocking off every exit. And, on top of those pillars were the Heartless. They were ambushing us before our very eyes. "I'll ask you about it later. We've got trouble!"

Together with the unusual strangers, Sora and I fought off all the Heartless in the area. He was doing incredibly well, from what I noticed. Sliding right into the next enemy and striking them with his Keyblade. Sora pulled off moves I never saw him use before. I refused to fall behind, horizontally slashing a few Heartless in my attack before moving onto the next one. _Huh, so those guys know how to fight_, I noticed the duck and dog fighting close by. The dog guy was using a shield while his partner shot fireballs from his staff. They took out the last of the Heartless ambush.

"Looks like the last of them," Sora breathed out, putting away his Keyblade. He stepped over to me with a wide and goofy smile on his face. "Anyway, I'm glad I finally found you, Lu! Where have you been?"

"I-" I was about to explain to him about what happened after the storm, but then there were several objects that fell from the sky. A large Heartless stood by with claws and feet that were disconnected from the main body. The face was hidden behind a masked helmet, but I only needed to see the emblem on its chest to know that it was one of _them_. It was a lot bigger than any other Heartless running around town. "That must be the leader."

"We'll fight it together!" The duck shouted, he and his companion joining our side. "Let's go!"

It took a lot to take out the legs. Eventually, we were able to destroy them to get the body and head alone. The four of us worked hard to combat the spinning enemy until the very last blow that sent it backward. We watched as the Heartless boss trembled uncontrollably. Then, finally, its head fell to the ground with a metallic thud and a brilliant light shined from where it used to be stationed. I watched in amazement as a crystalline heart rose into the sky, and the Heartless's body faded away.

**間**

"So, you guys were looking for me?" At the end of the battle, with there being no more Heartless to fight, Sora confronted the two who fell on top of him earlier. They said something about looking for _the one who wielded the key_. "Huh... Can you make any sense of this, Lu?"

"Not really," I shrugged my shoulders. Their story was incredibly far fetched, but it could be possible. I folded my arms and thought about it for a moment. There was something that didn't seem to connect right in my head. "I just don't know."

"They, too, have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade," a man approached us, and he was followed by a girl dressed like a ninja. "Simple as that."

"Oh, there's Leon!" the one named Goofy pointed at the tall man with a scar on his face. Judging by his reaction, I supposed that they were looking for him, too. But, he quickly turned his attention back to Sora. "Ah-hyuck. Hey, kiddo, why don't you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel."

"Really?" Sora blinked in surprise and dropped his head to think about it. "I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi..."

_What the?_ I gritted my teeth. _Are they trying to make off with my friend? This sounds awfully suspicious. _

We barely even knew these guys, and yet they were trying to get Sora to go with them. Having a ride to other worlds did sound like a great offer, but it wasn't like they were opening up the opportunity to both of us. I felt a little left out... But, most of all, it was like they were trying to take my friend away from me when we just got back together. It was so unfair, and I hated it.

"Of course you can find your friends," the duck said, nodding his head with great certainty. "Trust me!"

A fit of whispering erupted between the two world travelers about something I figured was related to Sora. I furrowed my brows and tried to listen in on their conversation, but it ended too soon for me to catch anything. They made themselves look even more suspicious in my eyes. What were they playing at?

"Sora, you should go with them," Leon said, urging Sora to go. I turned to him with a deep frown, which he noticed. "You and your friend here should work with these two, especially if you want to find your other friends. Who knows? You could do more together."

"Yeah, I guess so," Sora said, keeping his head down. At least someone supported the idea of us sticking together.

"You can't come along looking like that. Understand?" the duck said, waving his finger. "No frowning. No sad face. Okay?"

"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like me n' Donald!" Goofy chuckled, only to have his face shoved away. "Oof!

"This boat runs on happy faces!" _Donald_ went on to say, and Goofy nodded in agreement.

"Happy?" Sora mumbled, suddenly bringing on silence. After a little bit, he mustered up the courage to show his goofiest grin yet. I stared at him while Goofy and Donald laughed their heads off. Sora looked to me, confused. "Was it really that funny?"

"Apparently so," I smirked.

"Okay, why not?" Sora straightened up and nodded to me. "I'll go with you guys as long as my friend here can come along."

"Hm, well..." Donald grumbled. "I don't know..."

"You said you wanted the Keyblade," I reminded them, manifesting Starlight. With a confident smile on my face, I helped them picture again the last battle we were in. "There's two of us who can wield it. Why not take us both? I'm not as much of a dead weight like Sora."

"Hey, what's that for?!" Sora stomped his foot and tried to push me. I giggled and pushed him back with my shoulder. "I regret saying you should come!"

"Fine!" Donald quacked. We stopped our horseplay and quieted down as he put his hand forward. "Donald Duck."

"Name's Goofy," Goofy said after, putting his hand on top of Donald's.

"I'm Sora, and this is Lu," Sora added our names, and we put our hands in the middle.

"All for one, one for all!" Goofy continued, finishing our introduction.

I smiled to myself and found it amusing doing this with these guys. It was not like what we did with Riku and Kairi, but somehow I felt like it made us friends. Looking at Donald and Goofy, I could see people who would help us find our best friends. They offered their vessel for help in our efforts. There was likely something they wanted in return, but I had to suppose that it didn't matter since we'd find Riku and Kairi. _This is it. I'm coming to find you, Riku._


	17. Episode 2 - Part VII

**||Episode 2 - Part VII: Behind the Scenes||**

***Villains of a Sort*...[Hollow Bastion]**

Sora, Lu, Donald, and Goofy. The four heroes in the making appeared as a hologram for several eyes to see. Each of them fought bravely to fend off and defeat a mighty foe. To these individuals observing from far away, on the sidelines, it was nothing to be considered good news. They never thought that something so _marvelous_ could take place when it was in their plans to see them fail miserably. It could only mean that they had a challenge ahead of them.

"Those little squirts took down that Heartless like it was nothing!" One man with fiery hair growled, clenching his fists. "Who'd have thought it?"

"Such is the power of the Keyblade," another joined in, gripping his golden staff so tightly that he nearly broke it in two. "Those children possess strength that is not their own. We must be wary."

"Why don't we turn them into one of those Heartless?" inquired a plump woman. She grinned at the idea of Sora and Lu becoming Shadows or perhaps something better. The woman's eye fell on Lu more particularly when she suggested this. "That'd settle things quick enough. I wouldn't mind having that girl as a little pawn."

"Look at that!" A hooked man stepped forward and pointed his finger at Donald and Goofy. He knew very well who they were now that he got a good look. "Those brats' friends are the King's lackeys. Swaggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself," chuckled a strange man with ragdoll features. "Ha! Get it?"

"Shut up!"

They argued as a thin-faced woman hummed to herself from a throne. This situation playing out before her was intriguing, but it was about the children with Keyblades rather than the insolent fools bickering back and forth. She had enough of their despicable behavior. Now was the time to be discussing important matters, not the value of their outward appearances.

"Enough," she said firmly, rising from her throne. Her strong voice was enough to have them all silenced. In the dim light of the chamber, she stepped forward and revealed her frowning face to those who stood in darkness. "The Keyblade has chosen these peculiar children. Will it be they who conquer the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow them? Either way, they could prove to be quite useful to our plans..."

***Music End***


	18. Episode 2 - Epilogue

**||Episode 2 - Epilogue: The Beginning of Our Journey||**

When peace returned to Traverse Town, we stayed another night at the hotel to get some rest. It was a hard ordeal against the Heartless, and we were all exhausted from the fighting. We had our refreshments and waited until the next morning to get ready to go. Leon and the others were waiting out in the First District for us. Today was the day we were going with Donald and Goofy to other worlds.

_I wonder if they'll really help us find Riku and Kairi..._ I wondered to myself as we met Leon's group outside the cafe. It was a little too good to be true, but I knew it was our only way off this world right now. We needed all the help we could get. _If it turns out to be a bad idea, then I'll find another way for us to travel the worlds._

"Good, you're all here," Leon folded his arms and nodded. During our last stay, I got to meet everyone who helped Sora, Donald, and Goofy. These three were good people - Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith. They were also the ones we could always get in touch with whenever we visited the town again. "Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you. We don't know how far the Heartless have spread."

"While you're at it, check out the shops here," Yuffie added. "They've got some pretty neat stuff!"

"Here, this is from all of us," Aerith handed me a small pouch of munny. It was for us to spend as we saw fit. But, there was something else she had to give us. Leon was looking away for some reason as though it was an embarrassing thing. "This is from Leon, too."

"Good luck!" Yuffie grinned. "We hope you find your friends!"

"Look out for each other," Leon said, actually smiling a little. "Keep your spirits up."

They left shortly after giving us some encouragement. Donald went off to buy some healing potions and ethers for our journey, which was a good idea considering how we would be on our own. As for Goofy, he went to Cid's shop to buy some equipment to help us endure the Heartless attacks.

I never realized how useful those things were. There were apparently some unique qualities these items had such as giving resistance to magical attacks. I equipped myself with an Obsidian Ring. Goofy told me about how it was supposed to have some power against the darkness, but that was just what he was told. Might as well make use of it. Donald gave me a bag to hold all of our supplies so that they wouldn't get lost, but everyone was able to hold onto a couple things for individual use.

Now we were ready to head out and go to the next world. I was getting excited now that we were on our way to finding the others. At the same time, I was curious about what the other worlds were like. Would they be like the islands or this town?

"The gummi ship is just outside town," Donald said, pointing at the exit. "We'll head out through that gate to get to it."

"The what?" Sora asked.

"That's our ship," Donald explained. "We use it to get to other worlds."

"Oh, boy!" Goofy cheered. "Wait 'til you see it!"

"Hold on," Donald waved his hands. "I just remembered something. You two can only fight with your Keyblades. Let me teach you a little spell to help you."

"You mean like that fireball you used to fight the Heartless?" I inquired, and Donald nodded. The concept of magic seemed impossible, but that was because I never met anyone who could do it back on the islands. Although, having seen it with my own eyes, I realized that there really was nothing strange about it. It was actually amazing that we were going to learn how to use magic.

Donald went through the lesson a little quick, but Sora and I were able to wrap our heads around the basics. I practiced it with myself and formed a small ball of fire in the palm of my hand. It burned brilliantly and radiated with warmth. Fire was all I had to say to command the magic as I focused my power. So this was what the ethers were for, Donald explained to us. They'd help in keeping our magic power up so that we could use more spells.

"It'll be important for you kiddos to maneuver in our next battles against the Heartless," Goofy came up to Sora and I. He taught us how to roll effectively out of the way of incoming attacks. "Guess we ought to learn how to better protect ourselves when we get out there."

"I guess you're right," Sora nodded. "C'mon, you guys. Let's get going!"

Sora was being impatient, earning him a good scolding from Donald. I laughed to myself and ignored his behavior. He was being the typical Sora as if nothing had ever happened. This was always how he acted with Riku and Kairi. Deep down, I hoped Sora never changed.

"Well, I can see big adventures coming your way!" someone said. Looking around, I could see no one standing around us. It seemed to be all in my head until I felt something on my shoulder. There was a little cricket standing there, and he wore very fancy clothes. He even had a tiny umbrella in his hand. "The name's Jiminy Cricket! Leave it to me to keep track of everything in my journal."

And with that, we were off to the gummi ship. Donald and Goofy led us down a road through a forested area. That was where we saw their vessel, and it was amazing. My eyes were sparkling with fascination, and Sora was just as amazed. This was the first time we ever saw a gummi ship.

"You'll have time to explore once we blast off," Donald said, opening the entrance to the interior of the ship. "Come on, you two, we've gotta get going!"

Sora and I hurried inside to the cockpit, where we found our seats. The pilot seat was all for Donald and Goofy sat in the one right next to him so that they could manage the controls together. In a matter of moments, they got the gummi ship into the air and flying toward space. My legs went weak, but I found the experience incredible. At this rate, finding Riku and Kairi would be a cinch!


	19. Episode 3: Wonderland

_Greetings readers!_

_Unfortunately, I ended up taking a long hiatus from this KH fic. Not to worry, though, I'll be jumping back into it as much as possible. My hands are very tied personally, so don't expect swift updates. Episodes will be rolled out as soon as they are done. It won't be a consistent schedule._

_Please enjoy the fic as it goes! And feedback is so very welcome. 3_

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**||Episode 3: Wonderland||**

***Blast Away! -Gummi Ship II-*...[Ocean of Stars]**

Donald told us all about how we were flying through the ocean of stars during our flight to the next world. Millions of stars dotted all of space, mesmerizing me and Sora. We had never seen so many of them so close like this. To give us an even more grand tour of everything having to do with space travel, there was a pair of chipmunks on the monitor to help us out. Their names were Chip and Dale. Although, it was the flight crew here with us that gave all the more details.

"Like I said before, we fly to different worlds using the gummi ship," Donald explained to us again while he piloted the ship. He was careful to avoid the space debris- asteroids and other large objects drifting around out there. Pointing at one of the monitors in the cockpit, Donald showed us a few different gauges. "We've gotta be careful to not get too damaged, or else we'll have to turn around and head back to town for repairs. This green one lets us know how bad the armor is. That blue one over there is for fire power. And, uh... I don't know what that yellow one is for. Oh, well, it's not important."

"Ah-hyuck, I hope ya remember all of that," Goofy chuckled. Sora and I learned that, as the co-pilot, Goofy was in charge of making sure to blast any debris flying too close to the gummi ship. There were only a couple of buttons designated for the job. One of them fired lasers and another was for cannons. "Out here, the Heartless have their own ships and give us a hard time."

"Always be on the lookout during flight!" Donald waved his finger in the air, avoiding another asteroid.

There was so much more that they had to tell us about flying a gummi ship. How to shoot and steer the ship. Some kind of mechanic built into the ship provided detailed reports about how the trip was after reaching the intended destination. But, that was a complicated detail that I found myself not caring for. I was more attentive for the part about how to handle the gummi ship. By far, all of that sounded way more interesting than anything else. However... I wondered if he would let us give flying a try during this big adventure.

I glanced over to Sora and smiled at his eager expression. His eyes were all lit up as Donald went over one more time about how the controls worked. Sora was ecstatic about the information Donald and Goofy shared with us. For now, instead of fretting over when it would be my turn to fly, I took the time to relax before we arrived at the next world. The gummi ship still had a lot for my eyes to see.

"Hey, Donald?" I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I was just wondering," I started and gestured to the door. "Is there a shower or anything in the ship?"

"Oh, right," Goofy chuckled. "We forgot to tell ya all about what there was. Go ahead and explore, Lu! Bathroom's on the right."

Nodding, I got up from my seat and wandered out of the cockpit to see what all the gummi ship had to offer. And, as I explored the other levels inside the ship, I cam across a few different rooms. One was marked as the sleeping quarters, so I assumed that was where we could go to sleep whenever we were exhausted. Just as Goofy had told me, the bathroom was a door on the right side of the hall. It had a shower and everything to take care of myself. Last room that I found was to the cafeteria. It was small but enough for all of us to sit in and eat.

_I think I'll hit the showers first_, I planned.

**間**

"So, what happened to you after that freaky storm?" Sora asked me as we sat down in the cafeteria with a couple of sandwiches. I was only a couple bites in when he brought up the events that separated us from each other and our friends. "It was strange. I was stuck on another part of the island, and then this huge monster from my dreams appeared. One on one, we fought and then got sucked up into that huge thing that was in the sky. After that, I ended up in Traverse Town. This dog woke me up, and then I started looking all over the place for you and the others."

_The storm..._ I took another bite of my food while Sora rambled on about everything he went through. Everything before that night was so ordinary. We were finished with another year of school and enjoying our break. All of us got to play around as we usually did on the islands. Then came the day when I appeared on Destiny Islands. Rather, it was the anniversary of the time I arrived several years ago. _That reminds me._

I pulled out the star charm that Riku gave me as a gift. The shining silver and star designs were all enticing. Riku had to have saved up a lot of money to buy this, but I somehow doubted that. The shops back home never sold anything like this before. Did that mean that he made it himself? That only just crossed my mind this moment. And, it wasn't just where it came from that intrigued me. There was some kind of power inside this charm, something that I couldn't explain. _Power_. It was an amulet that radiated with a peculiar power. I could feel it in the palm of my hand.

"Wow, that looks cool!" Sora poked his head over the table to see the star charm in my hand. "Where'd ya get it?"

"Oh, uh... Riku gave it to me a while ago," I told him. He didn't need to know the exact details about it. I was too shy to share that much, so I just gave him the gist. Somewhat minding my own business, I dug through my pockets and found a small chain that I bought before we left Traverse Town. Slipping it through the tiny hole, I put on the star charm as a necklace. Doing so made me feel a strange sensation, like the amulet's power was flowing into me. I sighed contently to myself and returned my attention to Sora and what he had asked me before. "Anyway, you asked me about what happened after the storm, right?"

"Yeah!" Sora nodded.

"Well, it's a little hazy, but I remember floating around in a bunch of darkness after we got separated," I explained to him about the events that took place on my side. The details were hard to bring up about what exactly happened before I woke up in town, but I could recall that much. "I think... I was being taken to another world. Eventually, I woke up in an alley in Traverse Town and had to find my way around. Someone helped me out when the Heartless came, and then I ended up finding you. I kinda wish it was Riku, though..."

"What was that?" Sora asked, holding his hand up to his ear. I blushed and dismissed what I said about that last part. "Heh, at least you and I ended up in the same world. All of us will be together in no time! And, I'll show Riku all my awesome moves with the Keyblade once we find him."

"Eh... Awesome?" I sounded uninterested at his bragging. "As far as I can tell, I'm much better than you are. Who was the one who got the last hit on that huge Heartless? Oh, right, it was me. Let's not forget who has a better skill at using that Fire spell Donald taught us. I think we both know who Riku will be most impressed with."

"Why you..." Sora grumbled and glared harshly at me. "The magic is a fluke! We're both new at it, so I'll be the better one eventually! Why don't we go a round to see who the better fighter really is?"

"Why not?" I smirked. "Let's do it!"

_"All gummi passengers report to the cockpit! Wonderland is comin' right up!"_

That was Goofy's voice coming from the microphone. Sora and I paused in our playful banter, listening in to the message. Wonderland was the world we were going to, I had to suppose. The teasing I threw at Sora was put aside, and we finished off our food before heading back to the cockpit. I giggled to myself on our way out and gave Sora a nudge to the shoulder. He was able to laugh it off, too, but he whispered to me that he was actually serious about sparring.

_One day, maybe._ I smiled at Sora and climbed up the stairs to the cockpit. More likely than not, he'd have a better time sparring against Riku again. Those two were competing with each other, after all. It did make me think about something quite a bit, though. _I wonder if I could beat Riku now._

"Alright!" Donald stomped his webbed foot after getting everyone lined up in the ship. "Once we go down there, remember not to say anything about us being from another world. We're here on a very important mission! No matter what, we have to keep the world order."

"Border?" I scratched my head. "What's that about?"

"_Order_!" Donald corrected me. "We can't change the natural course of the worlds, or else balance will be lost. It'll be chaos!"

"Oh..." Sora and I nodded. So, that meant that we had to get in and get out as best we could without causing any trouble with the residents of the world. Protecting the world order was going to be hard if the Heartless got to this world. Donald trusted us to do our parts with keeping it, so we were going to have to do our best.

"Okay, beam us down!" Donald shouted as he stood next to Goofy. A light above our heads blinked above our heads. Suddenly, we were enveloped by a flash of light and carried off of the ship. It transported us from there to an open field down in Wonderland. "That's how it's done when we go to each world. The gummi ship will land itself with the autopilot, so we can get started. Any questions?"

"I have one," Sora said, raising his hand. "Why did we get beamed down over a giant hole?"

"What?" Donald blinked and gazed down at our feet. "Uh, oh..."


	20. Episode 3 - Part I

**||Episode 3 - Part I: Tumble Down the Rabbit's Hole||**

***Tricksy Clock*...[Wonderland]**

Our descent down the giant hole was strangely pleasant. The fall slowed down as if we were being lowered down by strings. Making some fun out of it, Sora and Goofy were doing flips and other tricks as we approached the ground. I noticed something else, too. The walls were covered in furniture. Lamps, broken fences, and other objects. Down below, I could see a couch and pots of flowers, but they were sunk into the ground.

"Oof!" Goofy landed on the checkered floor with a thud. The rest of us were on our feet, wincing in response to his terrible landing. "I'm okay!"

"What part of the world are we in now?" Sora wondered, looking around. "This place is so weird."

"Oh, my fur and whiskers!" We looked at each other when someone spoke up in a frantic tone. It was neither of us, nor was it Donald or Goofy. During our confusion, a white rabbit wearing a yellow shirt and red blazer ran passed us. He was carrying a large pocket watch. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!"

Not sure of what just happened, we decided to follow the rabbit. He looked like he was in a panic about being late for something and getting in trouble by some queen. Whatever he was rambling on about, it sounded like he was worth following. It was possible that he or his queen knew something about our friends. If they did, then that was more luck for us.

The winding path down a hall led us straight to a giant door. It and a series of smaller doors opened up when we approached, giving us access to the next area. I was glad to be leaving this strange room. All of these ticking clocks on the walls were getting on my nerves.

"Hey, we're in a kitchen," Goofy stated. He was right, or so I thought. There was something bizarre about this room we were in. Not only was it hardly big enough for the four of us to stand in together, but there were a number of things that didn't fit. A stove and oven made up the kitchen, and there was a round dining table flattened to the ground. What was weird was the bed up against the wall and the oddly placed chairs.

The rabbit we were chasing after was here, too, but he was much smaller than before. He was barely the size of a raisin, but the white rabbit was the perfect size to fit through a small brown door with a golden knob. That didn't make any sense, though. How come we were so huge and he was small like that?

"He's so small," Sora muttered, kneeling down to get a closer look at the door. Looking around, there didn't seem to be anything that could make us small like the rabbit. "This door is way too tiny for us to fit through. I could probably fit a finger..."

"Nonsense!" The doorknob suddenly blurted, yelling at Sora. We jumped back in shock when it spoke. That was no ordinary doorknob. It had a mouth that moved and eyes. "The problem is... you are simply too big. And, little boy, you had better not put one of your fingers in-"

"It's a talking doorknob!" Donald quacked.

"You, sir, are terribly loud," the doorknob complained and sent a glare to Donald. "I was just about to take my midday nap."

"G'mornin'!" Goofy smiled.

"Goodnight! I'm going to sleep," the doorknob closed his eyes. He was yawning and relaxing once again. I bet he thought we were just going to leave him alone, but he was wrong. We had to get through and follow that rabbit. There was still a whole world to search in order to find Riku and Kairi.

"Hold on a second!" I dropped down to my knees and jabbed the doorknob's knob with my index finger. He woke right up form the rude awakening, but I didn't care about what he had to complain of. "Tell us what we have to do to shrink down. We need to get through and find that rabbit."

"My nose!" he shrieked. "Oh dear, why don't you just try the bottle over there...?"

"Bottle?" I turned around in time to see the table and chair rising from the ground. Sitting on top of the table were two bottles. As for the doorknob, he fell asleep the second I turned back around. Now we couldn't ask him which bottle would make us smaller. "I guess we just try one out to see if it will shrink us."

We gathered around the table and investigated the two bottles. According to Mr. Doorknob, it was one of these that would do the trick. I noticed the simplistic illustrations on the blue and orange labels. The orange one depicted a small plant growing into a large tree, and the blue labeled bottle was the other way around. So, if we drank this orange bottle, then we would be growing even bigger... I didn't want to know what would happen if we did that.

_Here goes nothing_, I took a sip out of the bottle. In an instant, after all of us drank from the blue bottle, we began to shrink down to a very tiny size. We were the right size to fit through the door that rabbit went through. I stepped over to the edge of the tabletop and gazed down at the talking doorknob. _Don't tell me... He's still asleep. Looks like we're going to have to find another way through._

"Uh, guys," Sora spoke up, gathering everyone's attention. I spun around to face Sora as he pointed down at something near the giant stove. "We've got trouble!"

Heartless were spawning all over the bizarre room, and some of them were heading toward Mr. Doorknob. He had no arms or anything to fight with. It was ultimately up to us to save him, so we all jumped down to confront the band of Heartless. Shadows and fire-casting nocturnes. The enemies we fought were fairly weak and quick to deal with. Once we were done, we found a way out of the bizarre room to get after the rabbit again.

I found a doorless entryway to someplace else at a corner adjacent to the doorknob's door. Not knowing where it would take us to, we hurried through to find out.

***Music End***

**間**

"It's a giant maze," Donald grumbled. "And how are we supposed to find that rabbit in there?"

Grassy hedges zigzagged throughout a vast field. The four of us stood atop a hill overlooking it all, and we saw no end to the maze. In the distance was a huge castle but with no path leading straight to it. _What is this?_ I gritted my teeth. We stumbled on a huge headache, that was for sure. It'd probably take us days just to get through to the other side, and that was if we took the right path.

This was our only way, but there were multiple paths to take through the maze. Chances were that all of them connected to each other and the castle somehow. But, part of the maze was moving toward a forest nearby, so we still had to be careful about which way we went.

"C'mon, let's go this way!" Sora opted to the second route in the maze.

One way or another, we had to start somewhere and figure out how to get through this place. I followed after Sora in a bid to find the right path to that white castle. Donald and Goofy were following close behind, pointing out the routes we haven't yet tried taking. Surely that white rabbit was headed for the castle we saw. Unfortunately for the likes of us, it was no easy task reaching the castle. Each turn through the maze took us to one dead end after another, and we were getting tired of the seemingly endless walking. It was bad enough that we had more of the Heartless to deal with at the same time.

"So, are we going to circle back again yet, Donald?" Sora asked, bringing a prominent frown to Donald's face. He and I were walking side by side, while Donald and Goofy remained by each other during our stroll through the unforgivably dreadful and cruelly crafted maze. "I'm starting to get hungry..."

"Grrr... We might as well leave this world!" Donald grumbled. "I don't see the King anywhere, and we're not any closer to that castle."

_King?_ I raised a brow, curious and a little annoyed at the expression of impatience. Well, who was I kidding? This place was already beginning to drive me a little nuts. But had they mentioned anything about a king before? This was a little new coming from his mouth. I was a certainly a little more curious about this duo we were traveling with. _Might be worth questioning them about it._

"Say, Donald..." I started, painting my visage with a plain expression. "What kind of world did you two come from? Did the Heartless destroy it, too? And, this King-"

"What?!" Donald quacked. "What did I say about keeping the order?"

"...I didn't think asking about you guys would bother the border," I sighed quietly. "Geez."

"I said order!" he retorted.

"Aw, I don't think it'd be that bad to tell them a bit about us," Goofy cheerfully favored sharing the details. Definitely out of the two of them, Goofy was a lot more kind and open toward us. Of course, his consideration was an irritating nag for the magic-wielding duck. He was allowed to talk nonetheless. "The King was the one who sent us to look for the key- uh... keys? Gwarsh, but he didn't tell us there were two. Queen Minnie tasked us with finding the King and all. Guess "

"That's a simple way to put it," Sora blinked. Leaning closer to me as we followed them down the grassy route, Sora whispered quietly in my ear. "I thought that he wasn't all that smart, but it seems like he's smarter than he looks."

"Agreed," I nodded. There was something more that I wanted to say about it- about Donald and Goofy. My mouth cracked open, but failed to utter a sentence when we turned a corner. To my eyes, it was a grand spectacle so amazing to see. They widened, as did Sora's. I could also hear the sound of trumpets in the distance. "It's a castle! Do you guys see that?"

"Sure do!" Goofy responded excitedly. "I wonder what's goin' on down there."

"No point standing around here, let's go check it out," Sora shook his head, running ahead of Donald and Goofy. Favoring the idea of investigating the place, I followed behind him while the other two hustled to keep up.

_Those look like cards_. I noticed before we got to the entrance that there were peculiar guardsmen at the front gate. Human-sized cards wielding polearms, an axe and a spear. Well, that about made Wonderland seem like a world of completely bizarre... I didn't know what word to describe it as. Nonetheless, this world had some strange residents alongside the talking doorknob and the white rabbit.

"Halt!" shouted the black spade card. We all slowed our approach and walked up to the guards outside the castle. They were cautious and crossed their weapons to show their lack of interest in letting us through. "Who dares trespass on the queen's land?!"

"Oh, uh..." Sora was at a loss and turned to me, Donald, and Goofy for support. This wasn't something we were prepared for in the slightest. "We... came to see the queen? Y-Yeah, she invited us for-"

"Ah, you must be the royal audience!" the other guard declared, pulling back his axe. I felt a bit anxious, but somehow Sora got us out of a heap of trouble. They thought us to be some part of an audience, though I had no idea what for. It was relieving that we weren't going to be pushed aside so easily. "In that case, welcome to the queen's castle. Hurry inside. The trial is about to begin!"


	21. Episode 3 - Part II

**||Episode 3 - Part II: The Queen's Trial||**

_"Audience has arrived! Open the way to the court!"_

The talking cards announced our arrival to each other as we entered the castle. No time for asking them questions. We were being taken to the courtroom whether we liked it or not, and they didn't seem like the type to take it any other way. I followed close behind Sora and the others until we made it to where they wanted us to go. _These guys must be the castle guards_, I determined. _What kind of queen turned a bunch of playing cards into her own personal squadron?_

The court was filled with so many more guards, but they welcomed us to the seats where we were to observe the court. I saw a plump woman dressed in red and black. She wore a golden crown, which meant that this lady was the queen of Wonderland. This queen gave me mixed vibes. On one hand, she didn't give off the most evil intentions. However, on the other, I could see the anger written all over her face along with a red glow to her skin. I had a feeling that she was the one in charge of this court session as the head judge. Somebody must have done something so terrible to make her so mad.

_Huh? A little girl?_ I blinked in surprise, seeing a blonde-haired girl in a blue dress standing at the podium in front of the judge's seat. She hardly looked like a villainous person. Of course, appearances had their moments of lying, but... I felt something about that girl. It was hard for me to explain it to myself, but it was like she had an air of pure goodness and innocence around her. I felt nothing of the malicious sort. _I don't understand._

"You okay, Lu?" Sora shook me, snapping out of my thoughts. I blinked once and turned to my friend. He was looking worried for my sake, it seemed. "You've been staring off into space for a little while now. Something wrong?"

"Ah, no, it's nothing," I shook my head, but I couldn't find satisfaction with that answer. "That girl... I think she's in trouble."

Just then, the white rabbit we were looking for dashed into the court from another entrance. He was out of breath as he was before, and he climbed up the tall steps to a high platform with a small trumpet in his hands. Once the rabbit caught his breath, he gave the trumpet a few routine blows to quiet down the room.

"Court is now in session!" the white rabbit announced to us all. "Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding! All members of the audience must remain silent."

"Pardon?!" The girl in the blue dress gasped in shock at the announcement. "I'm being put on trial? Please, tell me why!"

With that, and ignoring the girl's questions, the Queen of Hearts peered down from her throne and examined the subject in her midst. The look in her eyes was unforgiving as she studied her prisoner. I could hear the loud tapping of her fingernails on the wood table in front of her. She seemed to become even more furious the longer she sat there in silence. This was not going to be a good session, I could tell.

"I have little doubt in my mind that this girl is the culprit," the Queen of Hearts firmly responded. She waved around a heart-shaped wand, angrily gesturing to the young girl. My fingers twitched when she slammed her fists down. It annoyed me that she would jump to judging her without even assuming her possible innocence. At least, it was my thought that she shouldn't be so assertive as the judge. "The reason behind my judgment... is because I say so! That is the reason!"

"That is so unfair!" The girl protested the wrongful judgment. _Unfair was right_, I thought. Someone couldn't be guilty of a crime just because she _said so_. I frowned and glared at the rude queen from my seat. This court session was nothing but a fluke, that was what I had to think about it. "I simply cannot stand for it!"

"Well, have you anything to say in your defense, little girl?" asked the Queen of Hearts. "I'm waiting."

"Of course," the girl said, pointing a finger at her accuser. "I've only just gotten here, so I've done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be the Queen of Hearts, but I'm afraid that does not give you the right to be so terribly mean."

**"Silence!" **

_Oh, boy_. I winced and shook my head. The way she put it, that girl had to be innocent. But, she only angered the queen by pointing out a truth. It wasn't looking good for her at this point. I wanted to help her out of her situation, but I wasn't sure what I could even do. _That queen is so impossible..._

"You dare to defy me, girl?" the angered queen bared her teeth in rage, slamming her fists again upon the table. This time, we could feel the power of her tantrum in the back of the courtroom. The guards were trembling in place. They were scared out of their minds, but they didn't dare break out of formation. "I ought to punish you right now. Such insolence!"

"Hey, guys, I think we should help her out," Sora whispered to us, sharing a mutual thought with me. "Something's not right about this."

"Yeah, but the..." Donald looked up at Sora. He wanted to agree, but there was something stopping him from it. "Oh, you tell him, Goofy."

"We're outsiders," Goofy said. "That would be muddling! Right, Donald?"

"_Meddling_!" Donald grumbled.

"Right, and that's against the rules," Goofy nodded. "Gwarsh... I sure wish we could do somethin'."

I sighed and folded my arms. It was wrong to see an innocent girl being thrashed around by a terrible court system. If only we could do something to get her out of there, but we couldn't meddle in the affairs of this world. We would be like criminals if we did that. This was the worst.

"The court finds the defendant guilty as charged!" the Queen of Hearts concluded with a devilish grin on her face. Naturally, the girl was looking devastated at the ruling, but there was nothing she could do to plea her innocence this time. The matter was completely out of her hands. Straightening out her dress, the queen cleared her throat and sat properly. She frowned deeply and looked the girl straight in the eyes. "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart... Off with her head!"

"No!" I gasped, standing up from my chair. The guards were mobilizing to execute the girl for what the queen accused her of doing. It was so wrong to see someone who was as young as us being put through that. _Why?!_ I wondered, gritting my teeth. _What is wrong with that lady?_

"Oh, please, don't do this!" the girl pleaded. "I would never do such a terrible thing like that!"

I looked to Sora and nodded to him; he nodded back to me with the same thought in mind. Donald and Goofy got out their staff and shield in a bid to protect the girl, for there was finally something we could do about this grim court session. _Theft of hearts. No ordinary person could do that, nor a girl who radiated with kindness._

"Hold it right there!" Sora shouted, shoving several cards aside with ease. "Stop the trial!"

"Who are you?!" the Queen of Hearts demanded to know as we approached her and the accused girl. All eyes were on us four, casting the spotlight on us. "How dare you children interfere with my court?! You must want to lose your heads, too!"

"I don't wanna lose my head..." Goofy muttered and held onto his helmet.

"Excuse us, _Your Majesty_, but we know who the real culprit is in this crime," I said sharply. "This girl has nothing to do with it."

"Yup!" Goofy nodded. "It's those Heartle- Oops!"

Donald thwacked Goofy over the head with his staff, quieting him down before he got us in trouble for meddling any further. We weren't sure how the queen would react to the issue of Heartless. It was likely that she'd go on accusing us of making things up. She'd probably have the guards go after our heads.

"Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for, ma'am," Sora said, pointing at the girl.

"That's nonsense," the queen scoffed, tapping her wand on the table. "Have you any proof of that?"

**間**

Thanks to our interference, the girl was spared from losing her head. The queen changed her ruling to imprisoning her due to the lack of evidence, which she admitted to not having any of. We were lucky to get a second chance out of the Queen of Hearts, but time was not really on our side. So, it was too soon to declare victory.

_"I want you to bring me evidence of Alice's innocence right this minute! Change my mind, if you can. Fail, and I will have **all** of your heads!"_

I recalled the queen's assignment for us. She was sending us four on a "mission" to find evidence to prove Alice. It would be our last and only opportunity to see her through to safety, so failure was not an option. But, we had no idea where to start to find these clues that would prove her innocent. The guards were no help, because they either warned us about the queen's nasty attitude or threw suspicion back at us.

Before they closed up the curtain to Alice's cage, and before we left the queen's castle, we found a moment to talk to Alice about her predicament. She had only recently come to this part of Wonderland before being apprehended under unknown charges. Alice had no clue about why she was being put on trial in the first place, meaning they thought she was guilty from the beginning. That was also her thought on it. Considering how the queen acted during the trial, I knew that to be the case.

Interestingly, Alice had no memory of her home prior to falling down the rabbit hole. She remembered that much, though. Peeking inside it and tumbling down a lengthy pit, eventually finding herself here. _Alice's story is similar to ours_, I figured out. The others assumed it as well, that she was from another world. We had a ship to take us to other worlds, but she did not. Maybe there were other ways to travel other than by gummi ship.

"We'd better hurry and find the evidence for Alice," Sora said. "Uh, I guess we just pick a direction and go that way."

One of the many routes through the maze was our only shot at getting somewhere away from the castle. Picking a random way to go, we carried on to find the evidence demanded of us. We were going to run into the Heartless again, I was sure of it. Maybe, just maybe, they had a leader that was responsible for trying to take the queen's heart. We had to find something to point the blame at them. No doubt the Queen had her squadrons of cards keeping their eyes on us while we searched the area around the castle grounds. We needed to take our search outside the maze.

The thought to take our ventures came and so did the opportunity, which was in the form of an eerie forest at the end of the maze's path. I lost track of the cards a while ago. They didn't seem to be following at this point, so it was safe to believe that we got away from them. As for this forest... it gave me an uncanny feeling.

"What do ya think is in there?" Goofy wondered, admiring the peculiar woods. "I hope nothin' scary."

Sora took the lead and led us through the strange forest. There were so many signs all around that pointed in every direction possible. I doubted that any of them actually would take us to someplace important. This was no good. We needed to hurry if we wanted to save Alice, what with the Queen of Hearts wanting her head. But, this forest... We had already been wandering for a couple of hours before ending up right back where we started.

I sat down on an overgrown tree root and sighed in disappointment. A little bit of frustration crept into my feelings as I looked back to the road that most certainly went back to the castle. _That queen_. My mouth curved downward into a deep frown as I stared off into the dark shadows cast by the towering trees. _I don't understand it, but... something's not right about all this._

A bubbling feeling of unease rose high in the pit of my stomach during my thinking session. I rested my hands on my pant legs and curled my fingers softly. The number of Heartless in this world was a huge concern, as were the words that came from the queen's mouth about _who_ tried to steal her heart. Her overall behavior, though, bothered me incredibly. Someone who could be so cruel as to execute a little girl like Alice. It all stunk of one thing.

"Hey, Lu?" My ears just about tuned out Sora's voice because of how zoned out I was. Inhaling deeply, I blinked and turned around to see him standing to my left. "You were looking a little space out there for a second. Is something wrong?"

"Hm? Yeah," I nodded slowly. Sora wasn't exactly my person to go to for spilling all the details about my concerns. But, he was my friend, and I didn't mind talking to a friend. "It's just... I've got a bad feeling about the Queen of Hearts and this world. Ever since we walked in on that trial, I noticed something off."

"Yeah..." Sora folded his arms and thought hard about it. His mutual reaction made me perk up a bit and wonder if he noticed it, too. "Why is the queen making us go through all of this trouble when the Heartless are running around?"

"Ah, well, I guess that's part of the issue," I said, rubbing the back of my head. But he wasn't commenting on the morbid behavior. Looking away, I took a moment to break away from my reflections. That was when a strange sensation crept over me. It felt like someone was watching us from afar, yet no one could be seen. Could it have been a Heartless? No... they weren't around this part of the forest _at the moment_. "Hey, do you guys notice anything strange?"

"Like what?" Donald, who was grumbling about something in his conversation with Goofy, turned around with his feathered brows furrowed.

"Gwarsh, I think we are being watched!" Goofy exclaimed. The three of us looked to him, noticing that he was practically shaking in his boots. "Fellas, look!"

Goofy pointed at the remains of a fallen tree nearby. We were disturbed to find a pair of eyeballs floating in the air, watching our every move. However, they vanished when we spotted them and reappeared as a dismembered cat's head with the body standing right on top of it. I jumped to my feet and prepared to bring out my Keyblade in case it was an enemy.

Yet, in spite of our defensive reaction, the mysterious cat never let its grin disappear. It could have been an enemy, but... I lightened my guard just a tad. _Not attacking. Then, he must not be in it with the Heartless._

"Hey, who the heck are you?!" Donald questioned, looking sort of upset.

"Who, indeed?" teased the cat. He had enough of bouncing on his own head and juggled it back onto his shoulders. Breathing a long, drawn out sigh, he rested on the tree and watched the four of us. "Terrible times for little Alice. The queen wants her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!"

"You know something?" I asked in a more gentle tone. "Can you tell us how to help Alice?"

"Ah, the Cheshire Cat knows all- but doesn't always tell," he responded playfully, but it instigated irritation within me. "The answer, the culprit, the cat all lie in darkness. Good luck on finding your evidence!"

With that, the Cheshire Cat vanished without a trace. We were left to figure out what his little riddle meant and if there was anything we could go by to rescue Alice from her situation. Although, there was one thing I knew for sure. This culprit had to be a Heartless. I had no doubt about it. An untamed Heartless bent on destroying anything and anyone without a reason.

"Ugh, how are we supposed to find the evidence if we don't know where to look?" Sora complained, kicking away a broken stick on the ground during our walk through the forest. "Look at this place. It's too big and dark!"

"Plenty of hiding places for the culprit." Suddenly, we were met again by the Cheshire Cat, who appeared in the middle of our path. He was laying on his stomach with his head rested in his paws. "With the eyes to see, anyone can _see_ the culprit. See the evidence in the shadows, if you can. Only a little is needed. But, beware. Not all evidence is there to help you. Do hurry, too. The Queen of Hearts gets very impatient."

"What?" I muttered, folding my arms. Again with the riddles and talk that made no sense. He disappeared before we could ask anymore questions, but that was fine. I turned to the guys and nodded my head. "Come on, we better find that evidence."

"Yeah, I think I hear those cards coming," Sora mentioned.

He was right about that. There was a distant noise coming from somewhere in the forest. Not wanting to find out if it really was the queen's guards following us, we hurried through the forest to look for as much evidence as possible. Just one thing remained on my mind as we searched. _What does he mean by eyes to see...?_


	22. Episode 3 - Part III

**||Episode 3 - Part III: Evidence for Alice||**

_"Oh, dear..."_

_Her hand flew to her mouth as the Queen of Hearts wandered from her throne. Alice began to worry exceedingly as the wicked and misguided ruler muttered and grumbled all sorts of words regarding the brave guests out searching for her way out of her cage. They did look like a capable bunch, so her eyes could tell. It was the girl's heart that decided for her to put her trust in them. However, no matter how much she put in, nothing could quell her desire for the queen to spare them._

_An unfortunate circumstance that the four of them were unaware of. The girl wished dearly that there was something she could do to overturn the action. If she wasn't in that cage, then she could run and get help. But... Alice was devastated to be trapped._

_"They are taking far too long!" shouted the Queen of Hearts as she paced across the field. Several of her cards were following as they were ordered, but some were unfortunately in her way and were trampled underfoot. "I cannot wait a minute longer!"_

_"My queen!" a guard came running from the castle doors and hurried to the Queen of Hearts. Tapping her heart wand impatiently, the queen huffed and awaited the news he had to bring. Her impatience had to be satisfied or else she would burst from all the pent up rage within. "We've received word that those children have made it to the lotus forest. What should we do?"_

_Alice, listening to the interaction between the queen and her men, shuffled closer to the iron bars to view them. What was that? She could have sworn that the queen grinned darkly at the announcement of their whereabouts. It was a wicked grin on that plump face of hers. Something bad was afoot. _

**間**

It took some time, but our searching made a little bit of progress. We found our first piece of evidence while looking through all of the forest, and it was in a rather obvious spot. Where the trees opened up, there was a small clearing hidden away from the rest of the forest. These footprints meandering through the area were suspicious and did not belong to any human. Too big to belong to that girl back at the court. What was more- strange black wisps were rising from around the edges of the imprints in the ground.

I knelt down and examined the evidence. My head rested on my right hand, whereas my elbow was propped up on my knee. It was tempting to reach down and touch the unusual substance, but I refrained from doing so. Who knew what would happen if I tried to? What I did know was that, when hovering a hand over the footprints, there was a cold feel in the air.

"Think that's from the Heartless?" Donald asked. Shrugging his shoulders, he used his magic to contain the piece of evidence in order to bring it back to the Queen of Hearts anyway. "I'll keep it with me so it doesn't get lost."

A barrier of some kind formed around a chunk of the earth, trapping within it the evidence. Sora and I were amazed to see Donald using his power in a more unorthodox method, and he was able to keep from disturbing the footprint, too. _That's the first of it. Now we just need a little more to save Alice._ I smirked at the thought of defeating that obnoxious queen at her little game- whatever that was.

"I bet there's more evidence somewhere else in this forest," Sora said. "We'd better split up to cover more ground."

"Good idea, Sora!" Goofy nodded his head repeatedly. Tapping his palm on Donald's shoulder, he smiled happily and gave a thumbs up. "Us two can check around this place for more."

"Guess that leaves you and me," I turned to Sora as Donald and Goofy went off in search for more evidence.

So, we traveled away from the others with the hope that we'd be able to find something solid. Much of the time was spent chattering about random topics floating around in our heads. The small conversation made up for the tediousness of our task and made it so we weren't too bored with it until we found what we needed. I found it helpful in getting rid of some of the pent up stress caused by- well, everything we went through since coming to this world. It was like a weight was beginning to lift from my shoulders. The burdens I knew were there had somehow been lightened. Of course, that did not mean that they were all gone. Just made easier to deal with than before.

I smiled softly and glanced over to Sora as we climbed up a large tree. In part, it was thanks to him for the relief, so it would be appropriate to express my thanks in that. Pulling myself onto a sturdy branch big enough to stand on, I helped Sora up and admired the sight of the forest floor. The view I could see was unlike anything ordinary. Everything looked so huge compared to what I had seen before. The trees and shrubs, such as the big one we were standing on now, were behemoth in size.

"What the-" Sora got to his feet and looked down at what I was seeing. "Did we shrink?! I can't see Donald and Goofy anywhere!"

"I think so," I said, trying to spot the other two somewhere in the mix of forestry. It was just as we were thinking. We had somehow shrunk down, like when we were back in the bizarre room. Or, perhaps we had always been this small. I doubted that drink actually wore off. "Anyway, we better look for the evidence."

"Right," Sora nodded. "That way! Or... that way?"

_Not very many places to go up in a tree._ I sighed and rubbed my temples as Sora pointed in two different directions. We had no time to wonder which way to go, so a random route was taken. Further along through the trees and into a dark tunnel of branches was the way we went. It winded back and forth, sloping downward and sometimes upward. _What's that? It looks like a light._ Something was brimming up ahead. One last time, we climbed down a slope until the tree tunnel straightened out. Then, I could see that there was a light at the end of it.

Sure enough, when we got closer to the light and stepped through to the other side, we found ourselves at the end of the winding path. Where Sora and I ended up took us by surprise. My mind ticked, trying to make something out of the peculiar mapping of Wonderland. There might not have been any logical explanation for us ending up back at the bizarre room.

_Weird..._ I thought as my feet touched down on the creaking wood of a bookshelf overlooking the bizarre room. The way back to the forest was still behind us, so it was possible to regroup with Donald and Goofy. _This world is really puzzling._

"Lu, look!" Sora called out to me. Spotting him on the other side of the shelf, I could see him holding up a black stick of some kind. A stick radiating with the same kind of darkness we saw with the footprints! I hurried over to Sora to get a closer look at it. This was definitely not a _stick_. Taking it into my hands, I examined the crooked object that was unusually smooth to the touch. "What do you think it is? I feel like I've seen that thing somewhere before."

"Um..." I tried to figure out why it was so familiar. "A piece of the Heartless? I think it might be an antenna."

_But, how could that be?_

"Very clever, children!" the Cheshire Cat appeared atop one of the large books. "Is a little piece of something whole enough to save the girl? Try putting it all together. The queen might believe you then. Or, maybe not."

"You!" Sora pointed his finger at the striped cat. "What are you doing here? And what do you mean?!"

"Cheshire Cat means a lot of things!" he responded lightly. Swishing his fat tail around, the Cheshire Cat chuckled and wiggled a finger at us. "As for you children... _what_ are you? I'd be careful going back to the castle, too. Good or bad? Light or darkness? The queen doesn't discriminate."

"Are you... telling us that the Queen of Hearts is up to something?" I questioned.

"Am I or am I not," the Cheshire Cat went on. "Better check on your friends on the way. Those cards are looking rather angry."

"That doesn't sound good," Sora blurted.

"Before you go, take this present!" Cheshire Cat tossed something at us, but it was no giftwrapped box. It was a ball of light that divided into two. One plunged into Sora's chest and the other circled around me before doing the very same thing. Suddenly, a chilly feeling came over me as the light glimmered around my body. It faded away after a brief moment. "Whether it helps or not depends entirely on the two of you. Ta-ta!"

Cheshire Cat was gone again, and we were left wondering what it was he had given us. That was until Sora threw his hand behind him. A thick block of ice shot out from a flash of light that sparked from his hand. The block crashed into the wall, splattering and freezing where it had hit.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Did I just do that? He must've given us some magic, Lu."

"Yeah," I breathed out. To test out the power myself, I held out my hand to shoot another block of ice at the same place Sora had. The ice shot out and refroze the wall, coating it in thick ice. A new gift of magic and another piece of evidence were pocketed. Now, we had to go and regroup with the other two. "Okay, so that'll help a lot. Come on, Sora. We need to go find Donald and Goofy."

I tried my best to hurry through the tunnel, but the branches were too weak to support my rush. Sora was able to get through just fine even with his big shoes, but he was a bit lighter than me. That couldn't have been the problem, though. My weight was supported before. _Ugh..._ I yelped when my foot fell through. Part of my leg was ensnared by the branches, making it extremely difficult to get back up. _Darn it! I was being way too careless. Now I'm all stuck..._

My foot wouldn't come free no matter how many times I tried to yank it out from the tangled branches. Maybe they were actually twigs considering our presently small size. Either way, I was caught in a situation that wasn't too good. It became increasingly bothersome each second I struggled. My clenched fist lightly pounded a thick piece of wood as my aggravation increased. _Should've been more careful!_

"Lu!" I glanced up in time to see Sora climbing back down to me. The growing anger subsided as he grabbed my arm to support me, but my leg was unable to be freed from its trap. "I-I can't get you out of there. What's up with these branches?! It's like they're moving on their own!"

He did have a point about that. It seemed like the more we struggled against them, the more they winded around my leg. This was no good. At the rate things were going, the Queen of Hearts would probably move forward with punishing Alice. We were taking too long- I was causing a problem. That meant only one thing for us. Sora needed to hurry on ahead and present the evidence with Donald and Goofy to get the queen's forgiveness. I needed to stay behind and not slow them down. At least I could catch up to them later.

"Take this," I handed the crooked antenna to Sora, which he reluctantly took. This was the best idea I could come up with at the moment, but we had no other options to work with. "Get to the others and stop the queen. I'll make my way there once I get out. Got it?"

"But, I can't just leave you here..." Sora shook his head. "What if those cards or the Heartless find you?"

_Fair point._ I sighed and looked around the area. Creepy sounds from everywhere. There was no telling what was waiting to pop out from the shadows. It could have been anything, even a Heartless. _Then..._ "Then, I'll fight my way out. Just get going!"

**間**

_"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" _

_Donald shouted at the top of his lungs when a spear nearly came down on his head. It was an uncalled action in his book, but the cards were not so quick to listen to his protests. Using his staff to knock one of them back, the royal wizard hopped back to stand with Goofy while the squadron gathered around. They were surrounded by the queen's pawns and there was no way out of the trap._

_"Oh, no!" Goofy whimpered, blocking another attack from an axe-wielding card. "These guys sure mean business. What do we do?"_

_"We have to fight our way out of here, Goofy!" Donald ordered._

_They made the move to fight, but it was no use. Too many cards came in at once, forcing the duo to surrender to them. Donald lost his staff, and Goofy his shield, when the cards restrained them. It was back to the castle without the rest of the evidence. All that had been collected was dismissed by the cards during their return. Being guided to the queen's domain, they noticed that Sora and Luxe were still missing._

_"Do ya think they'll be okay?" Goofy whispered to Donald on the way._

_"I sure hope so..." Donald whispered back. "We'll have to wait it out until they come back."_

_Domed cages awaited Donald and his companion. Like sacks of wheat, the cards tossed them inside and closed the doors to prevent their escape. Alice, distraught upon seeing her hopeful heroes arrested, slumped at the base of her own prison. All of them, save for the queen, were at a loss for words. None did see the wicked grin forming on the face of the Queen of Hearts, nor did they see the sinister shadow lurking behind her throne._

_Back within the mysterious lotus forest, Sora was running as fast as he could to the queen's castle. He saw tracks belonging to his new friends, but they were mixed with those belonging to others. The tracks led all the way to the forest's exit, Sora realized as he approached familiar signs._

_"Hold on, you guys!" Sora gritted his teeth and bravely departed for their rescue without looking back. Of course, he did feel bad for leaving his friend behind like that. Surely she would be fine. She was always fine, even during the hardest of times. _


End file.
